RichardHarlos.com

Okay, let’s put on our ‘what-if’ hats and consider this question: if you were a soldier and had to choose between occupying a foreign country or going to jail for the rest of your life, what would you do?

This is the choice that existing British Army soldiers must grapple with now that the Armed Forces Bill underwent its third reading, and passed Parliament, on Monday, 22 May 2006.

An amendment to reduce the sentence from life imprisonment to 2 years was introduced and debated but finally defeated by a 19 vs. 442 vote.

Before this bill was passed, 28-year old Ben Griffin—a former SAS soldier—quit the military (without punishment) because he was appalled at what he observed first-hand in Iraq. Griffin thinks this legislation was specifically introduced prior to an official announcement of intent to militarily occupy Iran. He also said:

The government are kicking themselves in the teeth. Currently the British Army is a volunteer force, but using this sort of stick to beat soldiers into doing what they are told is turning it into a conscript army.
-from Soldiers to get life in jail for refusing to act as occupiers, Scotsman.com, 19 May 2006. Additional details on the debate of the third reading can be found here.

Griffin’s pithy comment raises the question of legal vs. moral allegience. Which makes a better soldier? One who must kill in defense of a cause that he is morally persuaded is right; one so significant that it is, in his mind and heart, literally a matter of ‘life or death?’ Or one who must kill out of fear that if he does not obey orders, he will go to prison for the rest of his life?

The person who had settled in his heart that the cause he fights for is just, true, right, etc., will make the better soldier. Parliament has failed to comprehend the significance of this idea, that an army that thinks and acts from conviction will be more reliable than one motivated out of a fearful compliance.

Of course, I do see Parliament’s concerns, too. They want to be able to declare war and have an army that they can rely upon—what government doesn’t want such a thing? Yet Parliament, in their zeal for immediate satisfaction, fails to recognize that a man finds genuine courage in the strength of his personal convictions and not, as they seem to believe, in the strength of his fear of his government’s punishment for disobedience. Such is the mind-set of a slave-owner seeking to control his slaves through beatings and other abuses of power and authority.

No man, British, American or otherwise, will long endure effectively under such coercion. Likewise, no government that insists upon managing their military in this way can realistically (and humanely) hope for a long-term dominance.

Regardless of the organization, everything comes down to understanding one thing: what makes people tick?

If you appeal to a man’s greed, another with more money can entice him away from you. Appeal to his lust for power, fame, advantage, etc., and another with more resources in these areas can likewise tempt him to be disloyal to you.

Educate him to be a man of conscience and conviction, however, and no power in heaven or hell can dissuade him from his moral sense of purpose; such a man is to be respected in every sense. To the moral people around him, his conviction resonates with their own and a rapport and consensus come easily; to those who operate from baser notions, they understand that he cannot be corrupted, bought or coerced at any price, and they will fear him—and with good reason.

You say such men are rarely to be found in this day and age? I agree with you. And that is why, I think, we are in such troubled times, my friend: we are surrounded by a majority of baseless scoundrels who, in varying degrees, minimize the importance of adhering to principles and ideals rooted in truth, honesty, justice, etc. Instead, each man seeks his own pleasure, profit and convenience regardless of the expense to others.

Humanity’s greatest hope lies not in tougher laws, nor in greater external rewards, nor in more fear of punishment. Humanity’s greatest hope lies in men of character, who operate from open minds, tender hearts and inviolate consciences. These are our heroes from times past, and they remain our greatest hope for the present chaos.

Where shall we find such heroes, you wonder? I say, take a look in the mirror.