Ethics Final Paper

Many people believe that members of the Armed Forces do only as they’re told, without giving the order a second thought. While this may be true to an extent, there are certain ethical considerations that are made before any major order is followed. If an order is found to be “unlawful”, or “unjustified”, it can be refused. A member of the Armed Forces must be disciplined, mindful, and extremely attentive. The military teaches its Soldiers, Sailors, Airman, and Marines all about diversity, and how everyone comes from a different background. Unfortunately, the diverse nature of the Armed Forces can cause severe conflict amongst its members.

To be a successful member of the Armed Forces, one must be able to make “on-the-spot” decisions, sometimes without anyone’s assistance. Life is not, and never will be, a video game. There is no “pause” button on life. In an active war zone, you don’t have time to wait and analyze what your adversary might be thinking. There are no “do overs”, and no rewinding, in order to make a better judgment. Everything happens extremely fast, and you need to be prepared. Hind sight is always 20/20.

Occasionally, in the military, your ethical beliefs will cause conflict with your everyday duty. Many high-ranking officials will claim that they are not concerned with your beliefs, and that they just want the job done immediately, and they want it done their way. Should a member of the Armed Forces be forced to participate in something that violates their moral values? There are hundreds of military members that are involved in daily conflict with others, simply because they do not understand diversity. The military is no place for a close-minded individual, who cannot except that not everyone needs to be exactly like them.

The hardest part of belonging to such a large organization, is trying to know which decision is considered “right”. If a military member is faced with a choice between their ethical beliefs and their duties to our country, who decides what action they should take? Currently, American citizenship is not required to join the Armed Forces. Many people find this to be absolutely outrageous. They feel that a person of Afghan descent will not fight for our country as courageously as a “red-blooded American”. Everyone fails to realize, that unless you are classified as a “Native American”, your relatives were, at one point, immigrants. In my opinion, to say that it was perfectly acceptable to be an immigrant and fight for your country a hundred years ago, but it is no longer acceptable today, is what’s absolutely outrageous.

In conclusion, our military members face numerous tough decisions on a daily basis. Unless you have served, or are serving, you can never truly say that you understand what these brave men and women are asked to accomplish every day. These courageous members of our Armed Forces are extremely disciplined, attentive, mindful, and diverse in almost every way imaginable. Even with their vast differences, these outstanding young souls find a way to relate to each other, and defend our country side by side.

References

Mosser,K. (2014) Understanding Philosophy. Bridge Point Education San Diego, CA. Inc