And as the sun slowly sets on the British Navy: the concept of honor
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, I suppose, that the British hostages were given the right by the Ministry of Defense to sell their stories to the tabloids. Society has been heading in that direction for a long time.
The real surprise is that there was a resulting public hue and cry, resulting in that permission being rescinded until further notice, although it doesn’t affect the two such deals known to have been already made.
Liam Fox, the British shadow defence secretary, was critical of the former hostages:
One of the great things about our armed forces is their professionalism and dignity. Many people who shared the anxiety of the hostages’ abduction will feel that selling their stories is somewhat undignified and falls below the very high standards we have come to expect from our servicemen and women.
Ya think?
Of course, it’s unrealistic to expect all members of the military to be immune to the lure of lucre; they are human, after all. But surely, in the past, the Ministry of Defence wouldn’t have given carte blanche to the impulse to sell stories such as these.
It’s the institutional decline of standards that’s especially troubling. If this is what’s going on at the top, why is it any surprise that, as retired colonel Bob Stewart is quoted as saying:
The sailors and marines held in Iran have been so compliant and have already said so much that they have caused excruciating embarrassment to many people in [Britain].
I don’t think I’m just being nostalgic when I say that the vaunted British tradition of “dignity” of which Mr. Fox speaks used to be more commonplace. Dignity is not only an old military tradition; it was formerly more prevalent in civilian life, as well. “Honor” is another way to put it, and the concept includes caring how one appears in the eyes of others (external perceptions)—and, more importantly, an emphasis on the importance of acting so as to preserve one’s internal feeling of self-respect.
Self-respect seems to have morphed into that newer goal, self-esteem. And self-esteem isn’t anchored in the reality of one’s behavior; it’s often seen as everyone’s birthright no matter what said person might actually be doing to earn it.
I don’t think I’m being too hard on the hostages, either. It’s one thing to give in and falsely confess under duress, fear, and threat of torture; especially when, as in the case of these particular hostages, a person has received no special training in how to behave—and resist—if captured.
But, what’s their excuse now?
The good news is that the outrage in Britain over their present behavior seems to have sparked a call for a Naval Board of Inquiry to investigate how their capture could have happened so easily in the first place. An ounce of prevention would be worth more than a pound of cure. Maybe that sun will end up rising again.
If it does rise again, it’ll rise over Japan and Australia, not Britain.
As someone who feels a great degree of gratitude for the assistance the British have lent to us, I find this whole episode extremely depressing. I wish their countrymen had better represented them. And I worry about what this foretells for the West. *Sigh.* I hope the Royal Navy can rebuild and fix this situation.
I don’t know what else to say. It’s hard for me to put my feelings about this incident into words.
Probably the most succinct treatment of this topic is found in To Kill a Mockingbird in the rabid dog episode. At the end, Jem says, “Atticus is a gentleman and I am too.”
The British have always been a strange “dichotomy” when it comes to warfare. While being able to “commit atrocities” and conduct “piracy and privateering” with the best, they still manage to be the ones to conduct warfare under a sense of “fair play”(wouldn’t be “sporting” otherwise). I recall Churchill didn’t want sub-machineguns issued to the army, being seen as “gangster” weapons not suited for a “civilized army”, until schmeissers were used with such devestating effects upon them. And even then, their Sten guns were only issued to Commando, Airborne, and other Special Forces since they were expected to use a modicum of “dirty pool” in their tactics.
Never count them out, though. The British seem to have a penchant for “losing every battle, but still winning the war”.
Now it’s Not So Great Britain…
It’s not just Britain’s problem.
This incident is representative of the leftist rot at the core of Western Civilization. Britain is just a bit more advanced in its rot than are America and Australia. We are only beginning to harvest the seeds of planted in our educational system decades ago. It may very well get worse before it gets better.
Soon after the press conference with the British Military was broadcast, Col. Jack Jacobs, Military analyst — MSNBC had at the ready, this quote from English philosopher John Stuart Mill who wrote extensively about theories of liberty. On the duty of the military to any country, Mr. Mill wrote:
“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.
The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.”
With that, Col. Jack Jacobs concluded his thoughts and comments about the recent acts of the British Military in Iran.
‘Nuff said!
# camojack Says:
April 12th, 2007 at 2:54 am
Now it’s Not So Great Britain…
It is the Brits. For Brittle.
Good thoughts!
I agree, Roy, that it’s not just Britain’s problem. If we’re lucky, Britain’s military allies — America, Australia, and so on — will take this as a warning and a wake-up call.
But it may take more than that. It may take a positive example, in terms of seeing how a Western hostage is expected to act. In this, we may be lucky: the American presidential campaign season is well underway, and John McCain is a major contender. I have a feeling his captivity in Vietnam will be discussed at great length over the next several months.
(Note: McCain isn’t at the top of my list, by any means. But when it comes to enduring captivity with honor, the man has a story to tell, and we very much need to hear it.)
Edmund: thanks for quoting JSM — I like that quote very much. It reminds me of something I saw online a few years ago and never forgot:
“War is hell. War should be hell. It’s what makes it a thing to be avoided. But sometimes the alternative to war is worse than hell. And so we must fight.”
respectfully,
Daniel in Brookline
michaelyon-online.comBy the bye, some Brits take their military responsibilities more seriously than others, it seems. Michael Yon has quite a bit to say about that.
respectfully,
Daniel in Brookline