Obedience At All Costs Essay

A person’s decisions, whether they are following directions or are making their own choices, will change their lives. The effect of a decision is played out in the movie A Few Good Men. In the movie, Lance Cpl. Harold W. Dawson and Pfc. Louden Downey’s decision to follow the orders of Col. Nathan R. Jessup to perform a code red on Pfc. Santiago, a “sub-par marine”, results in them accidentally killing Santiago. Dawson and Downey are originally blamed for Santiago’s death; however, Lt. Daniel Kaffee is able to convince the jury to drop the charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Despite this, both Marines are given a dishonorable discharge for performing the code red on Santiago (A Few Good Men). In Erich Fromm’s article, “Disobedience

The motion picture A Few Good Men challenges the question of why Marines obey their superiors’ orders without hesitation. The film illustrates a story about two Marines, Lance Corporal Harold W. Dawson and Private First Class Louden Downey charged for the murder of Private First Class William T. Santiago. Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, who is known to be lackadaisical and originally considers offering a plea bargain in order to curtail Dawson’s and Downey’s sentence, finds himself fighting for the freedom of the Marines; their argument: they simply followed the orders given for a “Code Red”. The question of why people follow any order given has attracted much speculation from the world of psychology. Stanley Milgram, a Yale psychologist,

Some individuals know to obey their superior, unless they want to be faced with consequences. However, there are occasions individuals choose to be disobedience because they believe it is the right thing to do for the certain situation that they are faced with. This could in an individual being terminated, dishonorably discharged, or suspended. Knowing the outcome of being insubordinate, individuals are usually obedient, even when they are in a situation that is morally wrong. Kelman and Hamilton, in their article, “The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience,” examine how Lt. Calley's unquestioning obedience resulted in the massacre of many women and children. Theodore Dalrymple, in his article, “Just Do What The Pilot Tells You,” asserts that there is a balance between when one should be obedient to orders or one should not be. A movie, A Few Good Men, shows two U.S. Marines, Dawson and Downey, being charged for the murder of a fellow Marine at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba and Lt. Daniel Kaffee represents them as their lawyer. Nicholas Leveillee, in his article, “The Role of Obedience in Society,” asserts that one needs to find a balance between obedience and insubordination, so individuals can maintain their individuality and a stable society. Adam Cohen, in his article, “Four Decades After Milgram, We’re Still Willing to Inflict Pain,” asserts that an

The author states “When the orders we receive from a civilian authority pass legal, ethical or moral boundaries, any soldier of any rank has the right and the duty to first question those orders to receive clarification, and if necessary disobey them if they cross the line.” The author says this because he has been in the army for decades and to him it is the highest form of honor. The author is successful in using tone to express his disdain towards a particular candidate, and to warn other candidates of making the same

As US military expert Rod Powers explains how those who are military members who fail to obey their superiors risk serious consequences in "Military Orders", and could relate to why Dawson and Downey were convicted for their crimes (Power). Required to follow orders, a soldier does not need to obey an unlawful order, but those who obey can be pinned with criminal prosecution and in this case, it matches with Dawson and Downey's situation where they taped and tied up Santiago (Power). Fromm can conclude that irrational authority is used by using a comparison between a slave and their master; the superior wants the best they can draw from their subordinate and tries to exploit them, leading them to control with force (Fromm 126). When it comes to deciding whether or not an order is ethical, it is also the soldier's call to believe the legitimacy of the order; according to Saul McLeod, who is a psychologist and the author of "Obedience to Authority," obedience is a form of social influence by responding to a direct order from another individual (McLeod). Although Col. Jessup urged for no one to touch Santiago, Kendricks directly ordered Dawson and Downey to treat him with a Code Red, going against Col. Jessup's orders. Numerous situations occur where two people will discuss the same topic, but would contradict each other. It is easy to say "I was only following orders" to justify one's self to explain their reasoning, but that statement, also known as the Nuremberg Defense, is not going to save a person every time. Yes, Dawson and Downey were only following orders, but did they ever take a moment to question whether it was the right action and for a sensible reason? Probably not in consideration that it is a routine to follow a command because if they deny their superior's order, many consequences will follow. Kelman and Hamilton logically claimed that

Machiavelli declares that whatever you do, be it just or evil, if you know your actions will bring favorable results then you are not responsible for the manner, corrupt or blameless, in which they were obtained. This reasoning defines a timeless question: do the ends really justify the means? R. J. Herrnstein, author of “Measuring Evil”, believes they do, “A small, temporary loss of a few peoples comfort and privacy seems a bearable price for a large reduction in ignorance” (88). But is it not harsh to allow few to be terrorized for the benefit of many? When evaluating the Milgram experiment, summarized in Milgram’s article “The Perils of Obedience”, Diana Baumrind, writer of “Review of Stanley Milgram’s Experiments on Obedience”,

The film, A Few Good Men, showcases military lawyer, Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, defending two United States Marines, Lance Corporal Harold Dawson and Private Louden Downey, who were accused of murdering a fellow Marine Corps member, Private William Santiago. The obedience of the Marines was assessed when Colonel Jessup ordered Lance Corporal Dawson and Private Downey to perform a “code red,” a brutal punishment made illegal by the government, on Private Santiago in order to coerce him into becoming an improved Marine. Similarly, in the article “The Perils of Obedience,” Stanley Milgram conducted a psychological experiment that observed the extent at which an individual will obey orders. The experiment created a scenario where an unknowing member

Being able to follow an order in the military is one of the most important aspects of being a solider. Military discipline and effectiveness is built on obedience, and recruits are taught to obey immediately and without question. Throughout A Few Good Men, Dawson contested that he was just following the orders he was given, “We did nothing wrong, sir. We did our job. If it has consequences, then I accept them. But I won’t say I’m guilty, sir [...] But I believe I did my job. I won’t dishonor myself, my unit, or the Corps, so that I can go home in six months” (51-52). Dawson felt

In this essay, I will argue that honor is a theme of A Few Good Men due to the fact that two Marine Corps soldiers are questioned whether they were ordered a “Code Red” or handling the situation for breaking the chain of command.

Many times we are given commands or orders from a higher authority or power some of which we do not agree with or follow. This is because we use our moral values and human emotions to determine whether they were right or wrong. But there is a time where we may judge and not agree while others may not pass a judgment and be in agreement. In the study of Psychology we look to a researchers finding to prove the way we respond to emotional, environmental and societal changes. Stanley Milgram a researcher that set out on the behalf of Yale University conducted a study to determine how obedient

People often wonder why another person would, who claims to be a moral individual, perform an action that most would deem to be an immoral act. One example being in the movie A Few Good Men, most question why Dawson and Downey carry out the "Code Red" order and why Colonel Jessup even orders the "Code Red" in the first place. In 1963 at Yale University, Stanley Milgram, a profound psychologist, conducted an experiment of obedience, which became immensely popular and revealed the power of obedience in today 's world. Milgram presented his findings in his article, "The Perils of Obedience." Like Milgram, Philip Zimbardo, professor of psychology at Stanford University at the time, conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment, which tested average people 's abilities, or lack thereof, to resist authority or obedience. Lee Ross, professor of psychology at Stanford University, and Richard Nisbett, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, studied social psychology experiments and published their findings in their article titled, "The Power of Situations." Each of these psychologists and professors aroused numerous questions regarding how far a person push the boundaries of their morals simply due to obedience. People perform actions that they know may be immoral due to, in most cases, an authoritative figure or simply a belief that what they are doing is imperative to the situation at hand.

If not, failing to obey those orders will result in dealing with the consequences, and more seriously, dealing with the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Leaders should focus on maintaining an ethical climate in the work place. In the Army there is different way to display unethical behavior, DUI, domestic disputes, adultery, fraternization, and toxic leadership to mention few. I believe that today soldiers are not 100% committed to the Army Core Values. The public is a huge key player, the public opinion would not tolerate the execution of volunteer soldiers. Through this paper you will see the history of American deserters from the beginning 1812 to present and the implications of their actions. How in the past the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) was enforced and how today judicial system is different and how it affecting our forces. The Army must ensure to enforce the standards in regard to desertion while consecutively maintaining good order and discipline in the armed forces.

However, when executing the commander’s decision there is no room for dissent absent a clearly illegal or immoral order. In any case, thoughtful leaders understand there will be conflicts among values and are prepared to make the choice for the “harder right” —in battle or in the conference room. The fundamental lesson regarding loyalties is that “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

There are little facts about the role of obedience up until now. Psychologists have been debating on factors that constitute obedience within an individual. For example, certain theories suggest that people do horrible actions only if they are ordered to do so. Research has shown that most people obey all orders given to them by the authority-figure. The idea for this topic came to me while flipping through channels. I came across a show called 20/20, on the Investigation Discovery Channel. The show has episodes that go through a series of crimes and murders and provides insight on how the crime came to be and why. On one particular episode, a successful, well-known businessman orders a new intern to “take care” of someone to gain favor from him. The intern does so without hesitation. The intern is noted to be kind and helpful by his friends and family, fresh out of college and very hopeful. So it shocked them to hear that he had murdered someone. Would he have committed this crime if he wasn’t told to? That is what I seek to know more about.