Rachel Zeunik. Mr. Fisher. W131. 4/20/17. Killer Obedience.

Rachel Zeunik Mr. Fisher W131 4/20/17 Killer Obedience The American military prides itself on its devotion to loyalty, honor, brotherhood, and patriotism. Those in the military place the lives of their fellow men and country above all else. It is the most intense example of selflessness and self-sacrifice. This extended commitment to God and country is made possible through codes, vows, and unquestioned obedience. If a lieutenant is given an order, he will follow through with it because the lives of countless depend on his obedience. A soldier’s actions always contribute to the overall action of the military and work towards the greater good. If an order is questioned and not obeyed, the lives of those in his squadron will be endangered†¦show more content†¦Instead of transferring him off the base, Santiago’s commanding officer ordered Dawson and Downey to follow through with a â€Å"code red† on Santiago in order to eliminate the straggler. This code red involved the death of Santiago late in the night. When word got out of a possible â€Å"code red† in Guantanamo Bay that led to the death of Santiago, a law suit ensued, accusing Dawson and Downey of the murder of Santiago. Their commanding officer denied ever ordering the code red and instead insisted that he had ordered for the release of Santiago from Guantanamo Bay as soon as he read Santiago’s letter. Dawson and Downey were going to be given a life sentence until their main lawyer, Kaffee, proved that they were just fulfilling their jobs and being obedient to orders. Therefore, they should not be blamed for the death of William Santiago because they were obeying an order, which is the main basis of the American military. In 1973, in an attempt to understand the conformity to roles of guards and prisoners, Zimbardo launched a role-playing experiment that modeled prison life and reflected the environment of an American prison. The experiment was to see if prison guards are brutal and cruel because that’s thei r sadistic personality types that cause conflicts with the prisoners or if its due to the prison setting itself. In other words, there is a dispositional hypothesis that states that prison guards act the way they do because their personalities cause