By Scott Schwartz
“A
sublime sense of self – sacrifice must guide you throughout life and
death. Do not think of death as you use
up every ounce of your strength to fulfill your duties. Make it your joy to use every last bit of
your physical strength in what you do.
Do not fear to die for the cause of everlasting justice. Do not stay alive in dishonor. Do not die in such a way as to leave a bad
name behind you!” – From the “code of ethics” that General
Hideki Tojo ordered to be issued to all members of Japan’s armed forces in
1941.
You
are a military flight instructor. You’ve
just returned early from a training flight, and you are removing your sweaty
flight suit in the blistering summer heat.
Your country is losing a war that it had virtually no hope of winning in
the first place. You wish that you were
still flying combat missions with your comrades, but you are also looking
forward to spending the evening in town.
Before you can get the flight suit off, however, a loud speaker blares
with an order for all pilots to assemble in front of the command post.
Once
you and the other aircrew are in front of the headquarters building, your wing
commander dismisses those who are only-children, sons of single parents, and
first-born children. To those who
remain, he talks of how badly the war is going and that your country will be
destroyed unless “extreme” measures are taken.
Your wing commander goes on to say that a new weapon has been developed
– one that will sink any enemy ship it strikes.
The wing commander speaks a little more slowly as he mentions the
“catch” involved with using this weapon.
The pilot will not return from his mission. Since pilots are being asked to volunteer for
these missions, you can theoretically refuse. You are not afraid to die for
your country, but you do not necessarily want
to die, either. However, your decision will be public (you have to write
“yes” or “no” on your identification card), and refusal to volunteer will bring
dishonor to you. In reality, you have no
choice. You will volunteer to die.
To be continued...
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