Originally posted by: tcsenter
Keep in mind that none of your examples deal with KILLING someone intentionally. You are trying to compare the argument that the soldiers, just as bus drivers and surgeons who perform their job and save lives, shouldn't feel guilty by doing their job right. That soldiers should be proud that they saved lives or protected life, just as the surgeon and bus drivers. These (surgeons and bus drivers) people never killed intentionally to save lives, there is a huge difference!
There is absolutely no difference. Whatever the occupation is, whatever the responsibilities demanded of it, and intended to be accomplished by it, has no bearing at all on how people should be expected to feel about what they do. If the occupation is to kill the enemy in battle, and please don't pretend we are in Tu-Tu wearing fairy land here - killing in battle is what we ask of soldiers - then by God they not only
should be good at what they do, but when they discharge their duties as trained, they should not be expected or encouraged to feel contempt for themselves.
My point was that, you don't build an effective fighting force with high morale by teaching soldiers to heap disdain upon themselves, no more than you would expect to produce highly competent doctors by teaching them that they should heap disdain upon themselves. Who would enter such an occupation?
We train and motivate soldiers to give their best effort so they can become very proficient in what they do much in the same way sports teams are trained and motivated to give their best effort so they can become very proficient in what they do. The principle is the same, no matter the 'goal'.