In tonight’s class we watched a movie titled, Fog of War. It was narrated by a man , Robert McNamera, who was once a solider, use to be the Secretary of Defense for the United States, and has been to the brink of an all out catastrophic war and back. The premise of the movie is all about teaching lessons regarding the engagements of war. The rules were:
1.Empathize with the enemy
2.Rationality will save us-he explains how the decision to launch a nuclear war head depends on the words and thought of one human being.
3.
4.
5.Proportionality should be a guideline of war.
In class people expressed they felt the most surprising or shocking rules were the one about proportionality. While I see their points, I really felt the one about rationality is especially true. I hadn’t given much thought before, but it really is true that one human being basically holds our country in the palm of his hands. If for whatever reason, maybe he wakes up one day and is mad at the world, he has the ability to launch an all out nuclear war with just a few words. I think this fact is just mind blowing. It really is scary how much power one man, or gal for that matter, has. For example, if I were the President, I can see myself letting my ego or personal feelings get into the way of my job. For example, if one country did something that I thought was absolutely despicable, I can see myself allowing my ego to get into the matter, and out of passion or instinct, I would order the launch of a nuclear war head. And the fact of the matter is, he essentially has the power do something like that!
