“Law never made men more just; and, by means of their respect for
it, even the well-disposed are daily made the agents of injustice. A
common and natural result of an undue respect for law is, that you
may see a file of soldiers, colonel, captain, privates and all,
marching in admirable order over hills to the wars, against their
wills, indeed, against their common sense and consciences. They
have no doubt that it is a damnable business in which they are concerned;
they are all peaceably inclined. Now, what are they? Men
at all? Or small movable forts, at the service of some unscrupulous
man in power?
The mass of men serve the State thus, not as men mainly, but as
machines, with their bodies. They are the standing army. In most
cases there is no free exercise whatever of the judgment or of the
moral sense; but they put themselves on a level with wood and earth
and stones; and wooden men can perhaps be manufactured that will
serve the purpose as well. Such people command no more respect
than men of straw, or a lump of dirt. They have the same sort of
worth only as horses and dogs. Yet such as these are commonly
considered good citizens.”
-- Henry David Thoreau (Civil Disobedience)
Many of the abominable problems in the world are the result of obedience.
In our personal lives, in the media, we cry and moan and
blame "our leaders" for the problems of the world. We shift responsibility
to them. But are they solely responsible? What about the thousands
and millions who are actually carrying out their orders?
These people are the ones actually doing the terrible things that their
leaders want done. These people have abandoned their conscience
and have abandoned their responsibility.
Can such people be considered adult human beings at all; or are they
still children, or dogs-- dutifully obeying their master-parent?