Monday, July 18, 2011

Imperial Priorities: Obedience First – Character Last







We want to live pure, we want to live clean -- We want to do our best;
Sweetly submitting to authority, leaving to God the rest....


“The Obedience Song,” as sung every week in American Sunday School classes

It is with pride that we see that one man is kept above all criticism -- the Fuhrer. The reason is that everyone feels and knows he was always right and will always be right. The National Socialism of us all is anchored in the uncritical loyalty, in the devotion to the Fuhrer that does not ask for the wherefore in the individual case. We believe that the Fuhrer is fulfilling a divine mission to the German destiny! This belief is beyond all challenge.

Rudolf Hess, June 25, 1934, as cited in an appendix to the official transcripts of the Nuremberg Tribunal

In preparation for the Iraq war, the Pentagon’s war planners devised acomputer modeling program called “Bugsplat” to estimate the percentage of civilian casualties that would result in a given bombing raid. Just before the “Shock and Awe” assault on Baghdad began, Gen. Tommy Franks was informed of twenty-two proposed bombing attacks that would result in what was described as “heavy bugsplat.” He approved all twenty-two raids. 

The term “bugsplat” has become commonplace now that missile-equipped remote-controlled drones have become the Regime’s weapon of choice for prosecuting wars in at least a half-dozen countries. That’s assuming that the term “war” applies to a campaign of state terrorism in which thousands of helpless and entirely innocent people have been slaughtered in unexpected aerial bombardments waged by “warriors” who manipulate drones from the safety of climate-controlled offices in Nevada. The only combat-related risks those valiant cushion-crushers confront is the possibility of chronic diseases attendant to a sedentary lifestyle. 

"Predator Porn": Future "Bugsplat" victims....
 The same lexicon of long-distance mass murder that gave us the term “bugsplat” offers another newly minted term to describe the terrified civilians who can be seen frantically running for cover: “Squirters.” The vaguely pornographic overtones of that expression are appropriate, given the ubiqtuity of what Dr. P.W. Singer of the Brookings Institution calls “predator porn” – footage of drone attacks proudly circulated by the purported heroes responsible for the carnage. 

In a 2009 U.S. Naval Academy lecture, Singer described how “the ability to download a video clip of combat is turning war into a form of entertainment.” This repellent new genre includes a modern variety of snuff film: “A Hellfire missile drops, goes in, and hits the target, followed by an explosion and bodies tossed into the air.” Singer described one clip of that kind, sent to him by a joystick-wielding assassin, that “was set to music, the pop song `I Just Want to Fly’ by the band Sugar Ray.” 

Singer recalls asking a drone pilot “what it was like to fight insurgents in Iraq while based in Nevada. He said, `You are going to war for 12 hours, shooting weapons at targets, directing kills on enemy combatants, and then you get in the car and you drive home. And within 20 minutes, you’re sitting at the dinner table talking to your kids about their homework.” Meanwhile, somewhere in Iraq (or Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, or another country yet to be identified), families are picking through the rubble of their homes in the rapidly evaporating hope that their own children have somehow survived this most recent act of imperial generosity. 

The Money Shot: Note the "squirter" fleeing in terror.
Do such keyboard bombardiers ever experience misgivings about what they do? Perhaps – but the perverse fun is simply irresistible. 

“It’s like a videogame,” one cyber-samurai told Singer. “It can get a little bloodthirsty. But it’s f****g cool.”

Oh. Well, alrighty then. 

But what happens when the novelty wears off, and conscience starts to press its claims? When “coolness” loses its allure, conformity – displayed by obedience to “authority” -- will fill the void. “If his cause be wrong,” insisted one of Henry V’s soldiers in Shakespeare’s rendering, “our obedience to the king wipes the crime of it out of us” – even if this means waging aggressive war, murdering disarmed prisoners, and using the threat of mass rape and the slaughter of children to compel cities to surrender. 

For those on the delivering end, drone-facilitated atrocities seem utterly antiseptic. One scientist employed by the Pentagon to refine and expand the technology of remote-controlled mass murder “said that no ethical or legal issues arise from robots in war,” Singer recalls. “That is, unless the machine kills the wrong people repeatedly,” interjected the Strangelovian bureaucrat. “Then it’s just a product recall issue.”

Of course, the specific tool doesn’t kill anyone; it is an instrument employed by a morally accountable human being to accomplish that end.  We’re not discussing Colossus, or Skynet, the Cylons, or any of the other variations on the Golem legend that are common in science fiction. The Regime’s apparatus of state slaughter is proudly described by retired Lt. Col. John Nagle as “an almost industrial-scale … killing machine.” Its most important components are individual Americans who have been taught that “submitting to authority” validates any action, no matter how abhorrent, and sanctifies the indulgence of any appetite, nor matter how depraved. 

In the imperial hierarchy of values, obedience ranks much higher than moral integrity, particularly for those employed as agents of state-licensed violence. The Regime, both the federal level and through its state and local franchises at the state and municipal levels, has spent a great deal of money on subsidized “character” instruction, paying special attention to the military and law enforcement. The most influential contractor in this field is “Character First,” an Oklahoma City-based “leadership development” company. Predictably, its teachings emphasize obedience and "teamwork" at the expense of individual moral initiative.


Created in 1992, “Character First” is a spin-off from the Institute for Basic Life Principles, a Christian ministry whose founder, Bill Gothard, is regarded by many (including some very conservative,theologically orthodox Christians) as  the leader of something akin to an authoritarian cult.  

Never married himself, Gothard presents himself as something of a Rev. Sun Myung Moon-like "ideal parent," using his Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) to teach a detailed program of marriage, family, and character development based on "Seven Principles" and "49 Traits." Gothard's admirers and political allies include presidential aspirants Rick Perry and Sarah Palin. Texas Congressman Sam Johnson (R-Texas) is chairman of the IBLP's board of directors. More than a few prominent politicians (including Palin, when she was Mayor of Wasilla) have attended Gothard's International Association of Character Cities conferences.

The worldview promoted by Gothard is severely hierarchical, with all human relationships built on a "chain of command.” From his perspective, "rights" are a fiction, that refusal to submit to "authority" is akin to "witchcraft.” And, yes, Gothard  does have a “Little Red Book” outlining his teachings, but it is available only to his committed disciples. During the 1970s, hundreds of thousands of people attended mass seminars organized by Gothard, who positioned himself as a bulwark against a self-centered and subversive counterculture. Thus there's more than a little irony in the fact that the Soviets took a shine to Gothard's approach: In 1991 -- while the Hammer & Sickle were still flying over Moscow, and the CPSU was still in charge -- Gothard was invited to set up a five-acre campus in Moscow for a Russian offshoot of his Advanced Training Institute

When one of Gothard’s followers created “Character First” in 1992, he appropriated Gothard’s “49 Character Qualities,” repackaging them in terms that would be acceptable to secular institutions. This produced a platitude-heavy catechism that differs little from what can be found in the texts on management theory and personnel motivation that clutter the business section of any chain bookstore. 

“Character First” propagates its message through the standard array of media products – among them a monthly newsletter, illustrated with cartoons depicting various animals as embodiments of certain desirable traits. The organization also "works with government leaders and community organizations around the world who want to promote character on a local basis," boasting that its initiatives have been embraced by civic officials in six states and scores of cities in the U.S. and in more than a half-dozen countries abroad. 

Significantly, the type of principled individualism necessary to confront and expose institutional corruption isn’t found anywhere on the "Character First" list of traits deemed essential to good character (“the inward values that determine outward actions,” as defined by “Character First”). However, the list prominently mentions “obedience” – “quickly and cheerfully carrying out the direction of those who are responsible for me”; "deference" -- "limiting my freedom so I do not offend the tastes of those around me"; and "discretion" - "recognizing and avoiding words, actions, and attitudes that could bring undesirable consequences" -- among the traits identifying an individual of "character." 

A government employee whose daily routine involves annihilating people on the other side of the globe via remote-controlled drones would have no problem displaying the attitudes and attributes listed in the “Character First” inventory – assuming that he efficiently and conscientiously carried out “the direction of those who are responsible for me.” By way of contrast, “Character First” offers no support or solace for the whistle-blower or conscientious objector. 

Yes, the checklist does mention “Justice” – “Taking personal responsibility to uphold what is pure, right, and true” – but the practical application of that principle assumes that it is the prerogative of those in “authority” to define what is “pure, right, and true.” Thus “accountability,” as defined by the “Character First” program, always operates from the top down – never from the bottom up. 

Under the “Character First” formula, imprisoned whistleblower Bradley Manning – who, as it happens, is also native to Oklahoma – would have been considered an exemplary soldier if he had been content to obey his superiors and abet the cover-up of war crimes in Iraq. 

As an intelligence analyst stationed in Iraq, Manning was immersed in a steady stream of “bugsplat” videos. “At times it felt like watching nonstop snuff films,” observes a recent New York magazine profile of the prisoner of conscience. “An intel analyst sat at his work station and targeted the enemy, reducing a human being to a few salient points. Then he made a quick decision based on imperfect information: kill, capture, exploit, source.”

Overwrought with misgivings about the war before being shipped to Iraq, Manning had consoled himself with the thought that he might actually be able to discriminate between “bad guys” and innocent bystanders, but that illusion perished abruptly in combat. “At one point, he went to a superior with what he believed to be a mistake,” points out New York magazine. “The Iraqi Federal Police had rounded up innocent people, he said. Get back to work, he was told.” 

Manning’s first breach of “confidentiality” came in late 2009,  when he told a psychological counselor “about a targeting mission gone bad in Basra” in which an innocent bystander was killed, leaving Manning crippled with remorse. Shortly thereafter, he allegedly began leaking the Iraq war logs, which some day will be seen as an indispensable chronicle of a world-historic atrocity. 

The first and most potent revelation came in the form of the notorious – “bugsplat” video entitled “Collateral Murder.” That video documented the slaughter – by two U.S. Apache helicopter gunships – of twelve innocent civilians, including two employees of the Reuters news agency. Two children were among the wounded. 


 Former U.S. Army Specialist Ethan McCord, who can be seen in the video attempting to carry the wounded children to safety – has testified that this war crime was the product of a “standard operating procedure” dictating “360 degree rotational fire” in residential neighborhoods in retaliation for IED attacks on occupation troops. 

If PFC Bradley Manning did what he is accused of, he is a hero of mine,” writes McCord, “not because he’s perfect or because he never struggled with personal or family relationships—most of us do—but because in the midst of it all he had the courage to act on his conscience.” 
But conscience has no place in the Empire’s hierarchy of values. It is sand in the gears of imperial violence, for which conformity is the optimal lubricant. 

I’m tempted to say that if the “Character First” program had been in existence in the 1930s, it could have been translated into German and marketed to the Nazi hierarchy without modification. But this isn’t strictly accurate: Nazi Germany did have its equivalent of “Character First” – a State-centered doctrine called “Positive Christianity,” in which obedience to “authority” was defined as the highest practical good and a categorical imperative.

After the National Socialists came to power, writes Eric Metaxas in his splendid biography Bonhoeffer:Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, “Some church leaders felt the church should make peace with the Nazis, who were strongly opposed to communism and `godlessness.’ They believed the church should conform to the Nazi racial laws and the Fuhrer Principle. They thought that by wedding the church to the state, they would restore the church and Germany to her former glory…. Hadn’t Hitler spoken of restoring moral order to the nation? They didn’t agree with him on everything, but they believed that if the church’s prestige were restored, they might be able to influence him in the right direction.”


The eternal refrain of temporizers, opportunists, and collaborators is that they can “do more good” by “working from within” the system, on the assumption that their sheer decency and inexhaustible virtue will have a purgative effect on even the most degenerate public institutions – and that obedience to authority will cover a multitude of sins. 


Dietrich Bonhoeffer, whose heroic resistance to the Nazi regime was a product of his unconditional commitment to God, would almost certainly admire the character and courage displayed by the atheist Bradley Manning in exposing war crimes. He would likewise see something familiar in the effort to cultivate a population of polite, punctual, dutiful, thrift, orderly collaborators in institutionalized evil.

In 1933, many of Bonhoeffer’s pious friends chided him for his insistence on opposing the Nazi regime. The Third Reich was an irresistible tide, Bonhoeffer was told;  it was better to “ride the wave” than to stand against it and be overwhelmed. 

Choosing a different metaphor, one that would acquire grim connotations within a few years, Bonhoeffer gently but firmly dismissed the idea of collaboration: “If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the opposite direction.” 

 






 Dum spiro, pugno!


13 comments:

Sans Authoritas said...

Authority is the moral power of command. The State ain't got it. What most people by "authority" is actually its charlatan doppelganger: "obedience to anyone with power, because he has power."

Lemuel Gulliver said...

Mr. Grigg,
You quote Rudolf Hess:

"It is with pride that we see that one man is kept above all criticism -- the Fuhrer. The reason is that everyone feels and knows he was always right and will always be right. The National Socialism of us all is anchored in the uncritical loyalty, in the devotion to the Fuhrer..."

That quote perfectly describes the attitude of every single person calling themselves "Republican" towards George W. Bush, from 2000 through 2008, at which time the shit finally hit the fan, and Bush's illegal war that he lied us into, finally started to cause pain in America as well as in Iraq.

Well do I remember a devout Christian woman, around 2003, telling me, with tears running down her cheeks, that George W. Bush was a "saint." As I looked at her, I could think of nothing but the movies of vast crowds of German women, circa 1936, waving and weeping ecstatically as Hitler passed in his limousine.

The Republican Prty in America is fascist; it is evil and vile; it is nothing but a rebirth and resurgence of Nazism, Communism, Fascism, and the worst types of totalitarian regimes the world has vomited forth. And, since it has succeeded so well; since it has found such fertile soil; the Democratic Party is rapidly becoming the same. If you cannot beat them, join them.

With the Polizei, the TSA, the NSA, the DHS, the no-fly lists, the navy brigs in which dissidents are held without legal process, for years upon years, Guantanamo, Predator drones, presidentially directed assassinations, ad nauseam; with all that, there is not a hair's breadth of moral daylight between America 2011 and Germany 1936, or Cambodia, or China, or North Korea, or Soviet Russia.

There is no more "Republic." Our national anthem is a meaningless ditty to soothe and stupefy the soul of America. This America is an empty shell; a whited sepulcher which outside is fair to behold, but within is full of dead men's bones. It is a cesspit, which has flower beds and grass growing on the surface where the eye sees, but within is full of stinking feces and corruption where the eye does not see.

Bye, bye, Miss American Pie.... the music has died.

- Lemuel Gulliver.

Anonymous said...

The flesh has always fought the spirit. It is no wonder the State apparatus seeks at least a minimum of interference from its religious leaders. The question then is what exactly does the State hope to achieve with its stated program.
What America is doing today is not what National Socialist Germany was doing in the 30's.Nor was Positive Christianity similar to the program of Bill Gothard. That the Soviet Communists wanted his program speaks for itself.
You,Mr. Grigg,insinuate a connection between Nazi Germany and present-day America. Does that not make you also a collaborater? What are you doing to destroy the regime in Washington? You will do nothing because it would make you what Bonhoeffer was: a terrorist and traitor. What Bradley Manning did was different than what Bonhoeffer did.
I guess "a population of polite,punctual,dutiful,thrifty,orderly collaboraters" is "evil" to you. Really!? America should be so lucky.
Finally, the quote from Rudolf Hess out of the official transcripts of the Nuremberg Tribunal should be considered suspect. All trancripts from the Nuremberg Tribunal need to be reevaluated as to thier authenticity. If you are not aware, many documents during the Tribunal had been altered or forged and therefore become official. Which does not mean truthful.
Maranatha! Markus

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed the article. I came to this blog because I found a link on the Google News sidebar to a story on "The Illusion of Authority," the article written on that Seattle policeofficer who shot a deaf Native American woodcarver. The blog is great. I just wish that people would see it is not so much the Republicans vs Democrats, but more or less a concurrence of circumstances, a confluence of systems that have come together to make the world the way it is. And what is "it" that I am speaking of? Seems to me that a human being, an individual in this society and in this world, right now, and at each and every moment to come for the foreseeable future is "worth" less than he was a moment ago. The powerlessness of a single person in comparison to our institutions and their hierarchical structure. Nobody is really going to advance up the chain of command without first being vetted, and therefore changed, into the person that perpetuates the system they are in. I am told to just "deal with it." I need to find another job.

jos boersema said...

Take the initiative, everyone knows what is going on, it is time to take over. Actually it should already have been done, but the longer the wait the more urgent the need.

Talk talk about what is happening, it is necessary but ultimately nothing more then the music that is played on either train. It has to lead to action and revolution, so get on it already, please.

Anonymous said...

There have been "moral" and religious shills for the state going back into antiquity. It hasn't changed one bit because it WORKS! That fact alone should be sobering. I realized we can point out all of the hypocrisy from dawn until dusk, but just like Bonhoeffer, boarding the wrong train doesn't get you to where you want to go. That's what Christians have done for countless decades: bought a ticket to hell from the devil himself and convinced themselves it was a passport to paradise.

Anonymous said...

Oh, by the way, Lemuel.... I haven't the slightest idea why you consider the Democrats are somehow "becoming" just like the Republicans. That's like saying they're partially pregnant. Those bastards goose-step to the same fascist tune while their eyes glance, ever so slightly, to the left making it appear they're different. They're "blood brothers and sisters" to the core. Just an observation my friend.

Ex-JBS said...

(Note: This was submitted late last night, but must have fallen into cyberspace.)

Will, what a tremendous article! Thank you for alerting us all to the dangers of Character First, as it goes about drilling blind obedience into people's heads worldwide. The destruction it probably already has - and will - cause is incalculable.

To think that Christians are behind this perversion is what's really alarming, though. Why is it that 'authority' is always the major stickler in Christian circles? And the fact that those behind Character First believe (like the good Arminians that they are) that character can be 'trained' into people, while totally ignoring the need for regeneration and sanctification, simply boggles the mind.

Today, I've read several of the references you gave as hyperlinks throughout the article and have found Bill Gothard described as a Christian Reconstructionist. How tragic to see that label applied to someone whose distorted and perverted version of that school of thought is so far removed from what was taught by the eminent Christian Reconstructionist Dr. Rousas J. Rushdoony.

I've known some Birchers who were very impressed with Bill Gothard, but I never looked into his program, figuring he was just another in a long list of Zig Zigler-type motivational speakers and/or sleazy TV evangelists.

But the most disturbing eye-opener for me today was finding out that the founder and president of Character First is Tom Hill, who is also presently Chairman of the Board of Kimray Oil and Gas in Oklahoma City. Kimray was always a faithful advertiser in The New American for at least as long as we subscribed to it, and we had always held a high opinion of that company and it's co-founder, Garman Kimmell. Tom Hill is Kimmell's son-in-law, and the interesting thing is that about ten years ago, Mr. Hill and his wife, Kay, came to a meeting of the Dallas Business Chapter of the JBS, so that he could address the group, of which I was a member at that time. He told about how Kimray wanted its employees to succeed, and how they started a program there to motivate them that had worked so well, they were encouraging other companies to do the same. He probably called it by name (Character First), but all I remember was how he said it saved them on Workers Comp payments. The balance of his presentation was about how he loved doing business in China, and this was such a big turnoff for me and a lot of the other Birchers that there was considerable grumbling after Hill's speech ended. The Hills struck me as nice people, but also seemed to be the type who only consider God's love, and overlook His other many attributes, including justice and righteousness.

And now, ten years later, Character First pops up on my radar, thanks to you, Will ... and we see the destruction being wrought by their poorly thought out theological beliefs, topped with a dollop of good intentions, of course!

And Christians say that theology doesn't matter ....

buddhaflow said...

Hello, Mr. Grigg! My name is Sasha Shepherd, a fellow lover of human liberty.

I would love to talk to you briefly about something, it shouldn't take long. I couldn't think how to get ahold of you, I guess I could have asked at LRC.

By the way, THANK YOU for all the tremendous work you do. It is just..invaluable, and eye opening. Always the first person I read on LR ;)

Please write me at buddhaflow at yahoo, and let me know how to get in touch. I wanted to discuss something briefly, a possible little partnership, it shouldn't take long. I would be so honored to speak.

God Bless!
Sasha

whitebuffalo said...

As usual, another excellent article Mr.Grigg. Although the quoted phrase “quickly and cheerfully carrying out the direction of those who are responsible for me” will cause me indefinite nightmares (who the bloody hell is responsible for me other than me?!?!?!)

As an added bonus, I found the comments by ex-JBS to be very interesting. I will do some more research.

parabarbarian said...

I never went to Sunday School. Do they really sing that Obedience Song?

Bob Kaercher said...

William, this is purely tangential to be sure, but it just so happens that I'm going to be doing a new play about Dietrich Bonhoeffer with the Provision Theater Co. in Chicago this Fall. It's called 'Bonhoeffer's Cost' and it focuses on his struggle with the Nazi regime.

Just thought I'd mention it in case you're anywhere near the vicinity of the Windy City at any time from mid-September through the end of October.

Anonymous said...

Outstanding article as always, Mr Grigg. I can't wait to get your take on the Norway attack. Something very strange is going on there, and things just do not add up based on what has been reported so far.

I also just recently caught your Podcast with lewrockwell -- it was very interesting and worth listening to more than once.

-- Fellow Freedom Zealot from the beginning