Following Orders
Tom Holloway (thh1@cornell.edu)
Thu, 25 May 1995 09:08:24 -0500
LasNeters:
I've been following the SOA string with some interest, but
passively so far. Major Martel's perspective on the issue brings to mind a
recurring, almost catch phrase one hears a lot in the context of U.S.
military operations these days, from SOA training to incinerating thousands
of civilians in El Chorrillo in December 1989 (just to mention two L.A.
related contexts): "Just doing my job." "Got a job to do." "We're here
to do a job." There are many variations of the phrase, reflecting at the
level of the individual GI what the higher-ups call "professionalism." But
often when one considers what JOB it is that the GI in question is actually
DOING, and the basis for the policy that eventually filtered down to said
job being done, one gets functionally very close to the Nuremburg defense:
"I'm only following orders." But Nuremburg also established that the
requirements of military discipline do not relieve the individuals in the
system from their moral obligation to humanity. Whether we now call it
"professionalism" and the individual is "just doing my job," the principle
still holds.
Tom Holloway, Dept. of History, McGraw Hall thh1@cornell.edu
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-4601