76page

74 <a href="http://www.mca-marines.org/gazette">www.mca-marines.org/gazette</a> M a r i n e C o r p s G a z e t t e • M a y 2 0 0 9 FEATURE ing to outrage when they are violated, whether by a cop abus- ing suspects or a soldier abusing prisoners. The outrage is greatest among those who share the code. No one hates a bad cop more than a good cop. But if we limit the honor and physical courage of the war- rior ideal to an isolated subculture of military, police, and firefighters, focusing entirely on those virtues, we risk culti- vating doers who are less tolerant of different lifestyles or ways of thinking. If, on the other hand, we limit the culture of aesthetic appreciation to the world of academics and eco- nomic elites, never encouraging them to put their own boots on the ground, we risk fostering thinkers who are great on nuance and sensitivity, but even when “right” on the issues, are subject to paralysis by analysis—or worse. In the 19th century, GEN Sir William Butler, soldier, author, and painter, warned that a nation that separates “the fighting man and the thinking man is liable to find its fighting done by fools and its thinking done by cowards.”18 In the 21st century, we continue this separation at our peril. No one wants everyone to think and act alike—diver- sity of thought and perspective is a major source of our Na- tion’s strength. Moreover, no matter how much dialogue is fostered, it will always be fashionable in some circles to view the military and police with contempt, and in other circles to view academics and pundits as ivory tower elitists. Some will always be the first to run out of a burning building; some will always be first to run in. There were financial types in the World Trade Center who relocated their offices to the sub- urbs after the attacks; others joined the fight. But there is value in the understanding and respect that comes with common ground. In 1862 John Stuart Mill, the father of modern liberalism, wrote, “War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war is worse.”19 Without a shared experience, we are left to confront global terrorism with either the compassionate con- sensus of the whole foods collective or the indiscriminate anger of the lynch mob. Better, instead, to face terrorism’s homicidal rage with hard steel, informed strategies and, be- cause adherence to the warrior code is even more crucial when fighting terrorism, a rock solid code of shared societal behavior. Indeed, the absence of honor is one of the defining features of terrorism, where the terrorists’ own people are fair game, resulting in the sacrifice of all, even women and chil- dren, to their cult of death. I am not suggesting that every problem is a nail or that every tool should be a hammer. On the contrary, we need the entire toolbox. But without greater understanding be- Marine Reserves can effectively move within the military and civilian environments and explain military needs and requirements to the “unedu- cated.” (Photo by Cpl Heidi E. Loredo.)
76page

www.mca-marines.org/gazette