Examples Of Obedience In A Few Good Men

The movie A Few Good Men is filled with numerous examples of obedience and authority, some just and some unjust. One example is Lance Corporal Harold Dawson and his actions regarding Private Santiago. As a marine, Dawson was taught to follow the orders given to him by his superior officer, no matter the repercussions. In order to understand his actions, other works will be used to analyze the situation. In the article, “The Perils of Obedience,” author Stanley Milgram, a Yale psychologist, conducted his infamous experiment over whether humans were capable of inflicting harm onto another human being. The findings of this were astounding; sixty-five percent of the adults involved continued to the highest form of voltage able to be used (Milgram).

Similar to Dawson in the movie, they follow the orders given by their superior officer, no matter what. In the movie, Dawson is charged with murdering private Santiago due to an issued code red given by Lieutenant Kendrick, Dawson’s superior. Although code reds are not legally allowed in the marines, Dawson still followed the order with no regard to the consequences. Authors Kelman and Hamilton logically explain this by stating, “Authorization processes create a situation in which people become involved in an action without considering its implications and without really making a decision” (Kelman & Hamilton 140). Due to the order being given by a superior officer, Dawson felt the need to accomplish this task in order to please Kendrick. Since Dawson was only acting upon this because he thought he was helping Santiago, he did not see the issue; however, because of this, a person’s commitment is enhanced, leading to more of an issue with unjust authority (K & H 139). To further explain this situation, Milgram’s article can be examined and comprehended. According to him, people are not necessarily forgetting their morals in these situations, but rather putting their feelings aside in order to please their

By stating this, he insinuated his loyalty lies closest to his own unit, leading to him having a sense of protectiveness for the other members. This is further explained when the situation with Lieutenant Bell is mentioned during the trial. Dawson disobeyed the order of his superior to bring food to his unit member in order to protect him. The question is, why did Dawson disobey this order, but still obey the code red? As a Lance Corporal, one of Dawson’s duties is to ensure his unit is being treated fairly and their welfare is not in danger (Finch). To Dawson, he was not disobeying, but rather following his responsibilities. According to author Erich Fromm, every human has, what he calls, a “humanistic conscience”; humans have an intuitive sense of what is conductive and destructive (Fromm 126). This statement logically explains the reason behind why Dawson would disobey Kendirck and bring food to Bell. To Dawson, this was simply taking care of his unit; if he had not brought food, that choice would have been going against his morals, and therefore, inhumane. The Army Core Values state “Always acting according to what you know to be right, even at personal cost” (Ldrship). Milgram effectively expounds further on this idea by saying morality is described in three different words: loyalty, duty, and discipline (Milgram 87). By comparing these author’s views with Dawson’s code, the rationale is