Just Following Orders

 

 

    To demonstrate how destructive following orders can be I am using the extreme example of Nazi Germany because after all, they were just following orders. In the United States of America when someone becomes a police officer he/she must swear an oath to protect peoples rights and/or defend the U.S Constitution. What happens when that officer then receives an order that violates that oath? The officer then has to choose between keeping the oath or following orders. Police officers that keep there oath are becoming harder to find in America. When an officer swears an oath it has to come first over everything else including orders from superiors. With out this our country will crumble from within. During the Nuremberg trials the excuse of "just following orders" did not work. In this case it was not a constitution they were defying, instead it was human morals and dignity. In life there is always a higher cause or power we are to obey. God's law comes before man's law. The Nazis were guilty of murdering millions of innocent men, women and children in cold blood. This is a perfect example because the Nazis were guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. These are crimes against the moral code that God has ingrained inside of every person and that all nations must abide by to stay civilized. We need men and women with guts who will refuse to obey immoral and/or illegal orders and will stand up for "We the People".

This is an example of a police oath from the Illinois State Police website-

"I solemnly vow upon my honor as a cadet and citizen, to adhere to the rules and regulations of the Illinois State Police and to adopt the agency's mission and goals into my every day life. I pledge to be honest in thought, word, and deed; to strive toward my highest learning effort and avail myself of every opportunity to learn to my highest capacity. I will do this by maintaining unimpeachable integrity of behavior to bring honor upon the Illinois State Police. I shall endeavor to give thoughtful, intelligent obedience to the commands of my superiors, to obey the Constitution and laws of my country and the State of Illinois in a way that will set my behavior for the remainder of my career with the Illinois State Police."

I highlighted an important portion of the above paragraph. Notice that is doesn't say to blindly follow orders but to give thoughtful, intelligent obedience. That means to think about what you are doing officers - BDB

Sources - (Google Images)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Trials

http://www.isp.state.il.us/