Undesired higher standards

“With great power comes responsibility,” aint that how it
goes?

When one thinks about the wars, let’s say in the early half of the 20^th century, he/she envisions fallen soldiers, air raids, proud platoons, single-shot weapons, cigarette smoke, young- fresh faces, old-scarred faces, trenches, fatigues, and grenade induced explosions. Problems back then consisted of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), lost limbs, tense and/or strained marriages, absentee fathers, and at worst, death. Of course, none of the aforementioned images and/or problems was the main or most consistent. For a person never knew what his/her loved one was going to experience when he was hauled off to war. That, of course, was due to the fact that there was only one rule in warfare: There are no rules.

The "all's fair" rule is still in effect today. Sure, the Geneva Convention’s very purpose was and is to prevent overly inhumane acts from happening during warfare. But let’s be honest, war itself is an inhumane act. In fact, we can only expect worse in the atmosphere of modern warfare – by the by,(I told myself I wouldn’t digress as much moving forward but despite my super hero ways, I am only human!) Modern Warfare is an excellent game series and in the latest installment of the game, I am currently ranked between 500-700 internationally in Free-For-All...yea I'm that good-ok I'm done. Unfortunately, in modern warfare the use of technology enables humans to play God from distances that are all but a world away. With this technology we see less of that up-close and personal violence that tends to fold for compassion. So of course, humans are to be less prepared to yield to their own guilt when confronted with a chance to have a one-on-one with an enemy-be he alive or not.

With all of this said, it is a bit unrealistic for people to be shocked at the marines who desecrated the deceased bodies of the Taliban members. I would argue that there have been worse things done when the cameras were recharging their batteries, and soldiers were thinking of their lost brothers rather than their mission objectives. How many of us have wanted to castrate the penises of molesters and rapists, or torture the murders of loved ones, or the drug dealers who sold our aunts, uncles, moms or even fathers their last pill of destruction? As humans we often want some sort of violent compensation for a life or lives lost. It is more natural than it is not. Is war not full of the same feelings. Are many of our current soldiers not fueled by some patriotic duty that has its foundation in revenge for events like 9/11? War, itself, is not intended to be pretty or made for T.V. ; it’s intended to sacrifice peace and life for a gain that was deemed necessary and worth the means by people of power.

So do we punish the marines who were filmed urinating on the dead members of the Taliban? If so, why do we punish them? Do we punish them for the act of peeing, or because they are marines and they should be held to a higher or super hero standard? Or are we punishing them because they were caught on film and others now have access to this evidence? Or how about this, do we punish them so we don’t set precedence, because we fear that there may be worst repercussions than we’ve already experienced in our dealings with the Taliban? My answer: We punish them because don’t promote the desecration of dead bodies on any soil by any military, and we certainly don’t condone our elite officers-the marines- acting as untrained and animalistic as normal civilians would in such conditions. Essentially, if they do it, what's to stop lesser soldiers from doing the same if not worse-unless of course they are already partaking in such actions...hmmm. It sounds and feels hypocritical but we must hold them to a higher standard because our marines are held to the standard that athletes, politicians, celebrities, and the like are held to; we must punish them for forgetting that they cannot make mistakes. They deserve it just as much, if not more than Bill Clinton did for cheating – we’ll go with the impeached for lying excuse…- and Newt Gingrich deserves to be ostracized for wanting an open marriage with his ex-wife, and Michael Jackson (may he Rest In Peace) deserved his decades of abuse from the public. Why? The answer is simple. When you place yourself in the public eye or at the top of a social/financial ladder you must remember you can’t make the mistakes that we mere humans make.

In short, go ahead and punish the marines they deserve it. But be aware of the real reason behind their punishment.

Link for Marine video - http://youtu.be/CNxc37O4-NI