It does not surprise me that soldiers engage in some questionable actions regarding the lives of others...to a large extent, that's exactly what they are trained to do. Soldiers are trained to kill at their most base/basic level. To minimize cognitive dissonance, dehumanization of the "enemy" must occur, for who's really ok for killing people they truly empathize with?
But it still greatly saddens me to see stories such as this one about British soldiers who took pictures of their torturing and humiliating captured Iraqis.
Dehumanization of the "other" is essential to any war effort, hence long histories of yellow journalism and egregious stereotyping on large scales--often perpetuated through the major media outlets.
It's so easy for the pro-war folks to shout out "nuke 'em all" when they've relieved themselves of troublesome empathetic feelings. As long as you don't see your targets as humans you don't have to worry about the pain, the misery, and the death that you cause or support. Which also ties into my issues with their "Support Your Troops" sloganeering. By calling the men and women in the military--our neighbors and relatives--"troops" it distances their identity from that of a realized human and coupled with the lack of body bags on display, further distances us from the realities of war--even those realities that hit the closest to home.
I may be imagining it, but it feels as though the lack of empathy is growing in our culture. I'm not sure where to attribute it to or where to point fingers, but it's evident in every one of Bill O'Reilly's, "SHUT UP, SHUT UP"s, every one of Bush's "Axis of Evil" comments, every round up of immigrants of middle-eastern decent, every vandalization of "french" businesses, to non-Iraq war related items like Trent Lott's display of revulsion at being "forced" to support tax relief to low-income families.
If we as a society find it easier to avoid empathizing with the "other", whoever or whatever form that other takes, it is a decay of our fundamental trust. Community cannot exist without the assumption of shared respect. If we do not feel empathy for others, we cannot hold respect for them, and if we do not respect them, we not only do not worry about, but we find glee in the negative results of our actions.
Compassion is essential for any hope of a progressive movement to a more peaceful world. We must fight intolerance, be it religious fanaticism, political power-grabbing, or the dehumanized greed of capitalism and surplant a sense of interconnectedness.
I don't want to sound fruity, new-agey, but it seems clear to me that there is a spectrum between compassion and intolerance and empathy is is the valuating factor. The less we empathize with others, the more likely we are to alienate, isolate, and destroy. The more we empathize, the more likely we are to approach situations with reason, diplomacy, and justice--for our outcome is tied in to that of the other. We see the common experience.
1:02:27 AM 
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