Posted by
Curt Day on Friday, July 03, 2009 8:21:46 AM
Believing that our country can only teach but never learn from others is a distinct part of American orthodoxy. It is not a very good part, but thanks to our seasonal state of jingoism, it is in style for this weekend. But in the light of the current events of Iran, we should, at least, temporarily suspend that belief. Why? Because we have something important to learn from Iran, in particular, from its police and army units. The teaching we should learn is never give blind obedience to any authority.
Now automatically following orders does not seem to be any part of the American way of life until you get to our military. I learned this the easy way. While teasing a a troop about how they need to start a union so they can vote on the orders given to them, I asked why do they follow the orders of the President so readily? This person responded that you need to trust someone. But isn't that the philosophy of the Iranian military and police who are cracking down on the protesters? Wasn't that the philosophy of German troops when they took their solemn vow of allegiance to Hitler?
Now granted that no US president is either one of the Grand Mullahs or Hitler; but just because we are not as evil as others does not imply that we cannot be evil. And though certainly our troops are not being used to suppress the people in their own country, that doesn't mean that they cannot oppress someone else. For if one has to be the worst of the lot to be counted as evil, then the worst despot has become minimum standard of evil and all other tyrants and abusers have been exonerated by definition. Therefore, following the President's orders does not imply that our troops are not practicing evil when they fight. In fact, if they are doing what is wrong, how can we say they are liberating people?
So I say this truthfully in jest to the military: start a union. Have a say in whether you are going to carry out the President's orders. Do you really want to subjugate others in the name of duty and the Constitution? Think of it this way, we often ask our military to do what others have been unable to. And it is apparent that when our Presidents want to use force to get his points across, Congress uses a rubber stamp to condone the violence. Military, you can prevent this aggression. You can by starting a union and tell the President that no authorization of aggression will be carried out until the union votes and approves of it. If you don't stop and check the orders of our Presidents, then you too can imitate what Iranian military and police forces are doing to people seeking freedom. You too could be opposing freedom. Don't be deceived by the fact that you will be doing that in another country; others, besides Americans, seek to be free.