Originally Posted by jmm99
I found the Doe story and the video (which is mostly Prince Johnson talking, being fanned by a gal and drinking Budweiser regular).
That story and the Bosnian story revived some thoughts I've been harboring for a little while - since our "police action" in Korea.
The thoughts are not fully formed, and scarcely dogmatic. Here's the hypothesis: "humanitarian interventions" - whether UN or otherwise - tend to be morality plays. Those plays are scripted by politicians (UN, regional, domestic), where soldiers easily become props - "cardboard soldiers". Since they are not really soldiers, can one expect them to act like soldiers ?
The "ideal" (as opposed to realities in Bosnia and Liberia) certainly existed in the mind of another JM (John Milius) and the Marines in Milius' "The Wind and the Lion", where the Wiki sums up the situation:
Now, this is historical fiction (made up stuff); but it precisely frames the issue of moral courage presented in both the Bosnian and Liberian situations.
The rifle company captain in "The Wind" passed the test; but then he was far from a "cardboard soldier" and had considerable "freedom of action".
If you can do so, without boiling blood and blowing a fuse, comment ?
Regards
Mike
Mike,
IMHO it is all about that higher level of courage being moral courage. Among those who have seen combat to a repeated and significant degree they have been tested with regard to physical courage. Some greatly.
Sometimes physically brave men collapse like a wet paper bag when their convictions are challenged and they need to make a stand at risk of death or physical harm.
I was never challenged in terms of moral courage as the two mentioned above were. My anger may well be the result of subliminal fear that I too may collapse under those circumstances.
A start to the understanding of all this is the seminal work of Moran, 'The Anatomy of Courage' ( http://ow.ly/oIYeM ) now available on Kindle.
Caesar would be thrashing around in his grave see that "Death Before Dishonour" has so little value in todays world.
Among the Brits it was spoken of "dying well". Sadly even there I understand the concept has become negotiable. Remembering Basra and Musa Qala in recent memory. This pattern or surrender in exchange for safe passage seems to be becoming an acceptable option in British military culture.
An American view on the issue, William Ian Miller's 'The Mystery of Courage' is worth the cost and the reading time.
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