The coldest truth of all is that Death is coming. Yet perhaps the greatest lies are those used to justify killing in the interests of a nation. It is often said that a Nation cannot be bound by the same morality as a man, should not be subject to any rules but it�s own will and the welfare of the nation, but why should this be so?
After all, the soldier is also a man, killing another man. The General with his battle plans is a man who orders death. The State who attacks another does so when men decide that other men should suffer and die. They all know their part, and they all know the goal. If I aim the gun and you pull the trigger we�re both guilty. So what is it that�s special about the State that it has this right?
Most people will reasonably say that the State must act in the interests of its citizens. If you accept this justification then you must also accept that the State acts in your name, on your behalf. You must accept some portion of responsibility, some portion of blame if blame is due. To this way of thinking, it is precisely as if we � all the multitudes of the nation � are looking over the bombardier�s shoulder, urging, him, demanding he deliver his payload of death. If he destroys a village of innocent men, women and children we are as culpable as he, more so since he is bound by military law and force to be the extension of our will.
Let us put some cold hard numbers on it. There are roughly two hundred million adults in the USA. Since World War II US wars have resulted in roughly one million deaths. Add one million US casualties in WW II. Add another four hundred thousand for Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In very rough terms we are each responsible for more than one percent of a killing, counting our soldiers who died or who killed on our behalf.
Of course we must defend ourselves. We must protect lives and freedoms. Yet we are not a nation of brutal murderers and we must ask ourselves of any war, �if that soldier or civilian were standing unarmed in my yard, would I kill him for this war?� |
