Society & Politics
7 d

Could you shoot at an enemy soldier on the battlefield if they shared the same values as you?

First Ukraine, then Iran... The world seems to be moving closer to another major war, and the United States no longer appears capable of playing the role of the world's referee.

The Black Mirror episode "Men Against Fire" illustrates how soldiers can be conditioned to fight. If you portray the enemy as monsters or insects, soldiers become much more willing to kill.

At the end of the day, we're all human beings, and unless we're sadists, we naturally feel empathy. But if, instead of presenting the other side as human, you describe them—as is often done in discussions about Palestine—as "terrorists, beheaders, bombers, pedophiles, rapists, and disgusting monsters," you create people who are far more willing to kill them.

What we call national education is, at its core, a form of indoctrination. The state instills certain symbols and values because, in times of crisis, it wants people to rally around those symbols like a flag. Those who do not conform are often excluded. For example, in France, a person who prays cannot become a police officer. In a way, this is also necessary for the sake of unity.

So let me ask this: what if the enemy were not portrayed as terrorists, but as fellow Christians who shared your faith? How would you feel? What about feminists and homosexuals? Would you hesitate to kill a lesbian woman?

Kant says that republics do not go to war with one another. According to LGBT people, homosexuals don't go to war with each other either

We'll find out soon enough.

I would fight for my country no matter what
I would fight only under certain principles
War isn't for me
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Could you shoot at an enemy soldier on the battlefield if they shared the same values as you?
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