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I was reading Beyond Borders *excellent* post in the 31 year old woman commits suicide thread and it got me thinking. Especially his story at the end about how he reacted to the news that a man who had wronged him had died.
Awhile back I was in Honolulu and visiting Pearl Harbor. I was on board the USS Missouri (the ship where Japan officially surrendered) and heard the story of a failed kamikaze attack on the ship. A young Japanese pilot flew into the starboard side of the ship, causing a minor fire and minimal damage. No American was killed or injured but the remains of the enemy pilot were recovered intact.
Imagine you were on the USS Missouri. That young Japanese man attacked the ship! He tried to send you and your buddies to your deaths! What do you do with the body? Piss on it? Throw it overboard? Send it back to Japan defiled?
Captain Callaghan, the commanding officer on the ship, decided what was going to happen. Just as the seaman were about to wash the enemy body overboard, he stepped in and ordered the body to be prepared for burial.
He determined that the Japanese pilot had done his job to the best of his ability, and with honor, so he should be given a military funeral. The following day he was buried at sea with military honors. The Marine Guard fired a traditional three-volley rifle salute, a bugler played taps and the ship chaplain concluded it by saying "Commend his body to the deep."
Imagine what it must have been like for the young Japanese pilot’s family at the time. To find out their son received respect and honor from the American enemy amidst a very brutal and devastating war. I believe at a later date the Japanese family thanked the sailors on the ship.
I still think about this story often.
When should this respect end? Should ISIS terrorists be shown respect in death as the young Japanese pilot was? Their fighting tactics are very different, one being honorable and the other being completely inhuman, but should that change anything?
Jesus often said to forgive your enemies while Genghis Khan said "A man's greatest joy is crushing his enemies."
I'm very curious to hear some of your thoughts on this. I'm aware that there are an endless number of different scenarios but what is the general principle that a man should strive to follow? I find this sort of thing very hard to understand but very important in regards to masculine ethics.
I was reading Beyond Borders *excellent* post in the 31 year old woman commits suicide thread and it got me thinking. Especially his story at the end about how he reacted to the news that a man who had wronged him had died.
Awhile back I was in Honolulu and visiting Pearl Harbor. I was on board the USS Missouri (the ship where Japan officially surrendered) and heard the story of a failed kamikaze attack on the ship. A young Japanese pilot flew into the starboard side of the ship, causing a minor fire and minimal damage. No American was killed or injured but the remains of the enemy pilot were recovered intact.
Imagine you were on the USS Missouri. That young Japanese man attacked the ship! He tried to send you and your buddies to your deaths! What do you do with the body? Piss on it? Throw it overboard? Send it back to Japan defiled?
Captain Callaghan, the commanding officer on the ship, decided what was going to happen. Just as the seaman were about to wash the enemy body overboard, he stepped in and ordered the body to be prepared for burial.
He determined that the Japanese pilot had done his job to the best of his ability, and with honor, so he should be given a military funeral. The following day he was buried at sea with military honors. The Marine Guard fired a traditional three-volley rifle salute, a bugler played taps and the ship chaplain concluded it by saying "Commend his body to the deep."
Imagine what it must have been like for the young Japanese pilot’s family at the time. To find out their son received respect and honor from the American enemy amidst a very brutal and devastating war. I believe at a later date the Japanese family thanked the sailors on the ship.
I still think about this story often.
When should this respect end? Should ISIS terrorists be shown respect in death as the young Japanese pilot was? Their fighting tactics are very different, one being honorable and the other being completely inhuman, but should that change anything?
Jesus often said to forgive your enemies while Genghis Khan said "A man's greatest joy is crushing his enemies."
I'm very curious to hear some of your thoughts on this. I'm aware that there are an endless number of different scenarios but what is the general principle that a man should strive to follow? I find this sort of thing very hard to understand but very important in regards to masculine ethics.