Introduction to Moral Theories

I didn’t make it past the first page before Stanley Milgram’s excerpt (Ordinary people, simply doing their jobs…) provoked a seemingly endless and consuming thought process. If I interpreted Milgram’s thoughts correctly, he is inferring that all people, regardless of background and/or status have the potential to carry out immoral behavior. Based on his conclusion I immediately thought of all the young soldiers and the myriad of potentially problematic issues that may arise when ordinary people are asked to do extraordinary things.
Although not true in every case, a somewhat typical story of a soldier may entail: leaving for military duty at an extremely young age, being separated from family (sometimes for the first time ever,) undergoing a “culture shock” or paradigm shift, being put into an extraordinary situation with little to no moral or ethical foundation, being left to suffer the damaging consequences of his or her actions. I can surmise that members of the armed forces are taught to “act without thinking” and follow orders without questioning. For the objective of completing a mission without risking the lives of others, I can see the validity in this method of training. My quandary resides with my concern over the lack of foundation these ill-equipped young men and women possess. If we were to assume that a large portion of soldiers come from an age demographic of seventeen to twenty-five years of age, it is fair that we ask ourselves about the kind of moral/ethical foundation they can possibly have. Of course some are more ethically “mature” than others, but I do not believe that accounts for the majority.

Taking into consideration the fact that many service members may not bear a desirable amount of moral fiber, I have to question the validity of the exceptional amount of pressure these young men and women are forced to deal with. If I were to take a seventeen or eighteen-year old boy from a small southern town (who may have lived a relatively sheltered life) and put that boy in a situation where he follows orders blindly (without question) and was forced to experience something as formidable as say, taking the life of another human being; it would be highly presumptuous of me to assume that it would not have a high emotional effect on that child. Where is the morality behind that scenario? It’s difficult for me to believe that issues such as PTSD, depression, and suicide among military members, actually surprise anyone. What frustrates me further is the fact that so many people (including non-military personnel) are oblivious to many of the real reasons as to why we engage in certain acts of war. It saddens me to think that we may be putting American children at risk for potential long-term psychological issues while taking full advantage of the fact that they lack the resources to challenge or question the bigger picture.
Being exposed to a number of experiences in my life, both personal and professional, I have seen the tremendous importance of a solid foundation. In order to achieve a high level of moral or ethical capacity, one must first obtain a sound foundation. Strong foundations (across many applications) begin with parenting and child rearing. The longer children are denied the opportunity to grow both morally and mentally, the harder it is to attain a high level of moral and/or ethical achievement.