A side trip to virtues

 

Spent last week on vacation in the Big Easy.  For those of you not familiar with city nicknames it is New Orleans.  City nicknames can be quite interesting.  I am not sure why New York is the "Big Apple" or why Boston is "Beantown".  I am pretty sure why Las Vegas is "Sin City" and why Dallas is "Big D".  Here is a further list of city nicknames.  It is always a thrill to visit different places and experience different cultures.  We saw the French Quarter, the Garden District, and the Irish Channel.  We ate beignets at Cafe du Monde and had many excellent meals.  We saw how Mardi Gras floats were made.  On our swamp tour we saw the usual assortment of birds and alligators.  The big thrill was seeing a bald eagle.

The most impactful for me was the WWII museum.  This museum has undergone extensive renovations over the past couple of years.  It was originally dedicated to the D Day invasion.  This was due to the area's association with the Higgins boat.  Later the museum added elements of amphibious operation in the pacific.  It is now a museum covering most aspects of WWII.  It covers the war in northern Africa, Italy, Europe and the pacific.  It also has exhibits describing aspect of the war from the home front.  Needless to say Rosie the riveter is a major player in these displays.  I especially enjoyed the Aviation gallery, love those vintage airplanes.

In the theater we watched the movie "Beyond All Boundaries".  Offered as a "4D" experience composed of lights, media, sound and vibrating seats.  The content began with a time line of events leading up to the USA's entry into WWII.  It continued with events in both the European and Pacific theaters of operation.  Also included were the significant contribution by citizens on the home front.  With all able bodied men conscripted guns and tanks were not going to build themselves.  Rosie the riveter stepped up and did her part.

One particular section spoke about the war in the pacific.  Specifically Japan's response near the end of the war.  At this point it was very apparent that Japan was not going to win the war.  The war in Europe was over and the allies military industrial infrastructure was intact.  Where as Japan's infrastructure was mostly destroyed.  The allies had almost unlimited resources while Japan was scarcely able to find enough fuel for their aircraft.  The allies had also gained control of airfields within striking distance of Japan's main island.  They used these airfields to fire bomb Tokyo.  In spite of this devastating attack the Japanese emperor urged the country to fight on.  Emperor Hirohito ordered his military not to suffer the shame of being captured and that to die was truly honorable.  Japanese soldiers were ordered to kill as many of the enemy as possible before being killed.  The movie had first person accounts to Japanese soldiers charging without ammunition.  They attacked with bayonets, knives and even sticks.

The phrase describing this behavior was "pointless bravery".  Charging a machine gun nest with just a bayonet is rather pointless.  Tactically the only damage you cause your enemy is the consumption of a few bullets.  Strategically this level of bravery may cause your enemy to have second thoughts the next time a poorly armed attack is launched.  The word pointless is defined as:

"having little or no sense, use or purpose"

If we accept bravery as a virtue is it possible that any virtue could become pointless?  Could an act of kindness be pointless.  If we imagine 2 gentlemen meeting for lunch.  Both are well off financially.  After the meal, one pays and the other accepts the kind gestured.  Either could easily pay for both meals.  It seems to me to be an act of kindness.  However, is it truly an act of kindness?  Is this "pointless kindness"?  Here is a list of virtues.  This is not the only list.  If you google "list of virtues" several different lists appear.

Maybe there is more to virtues than kind gestures?  Our family has been cared at times over the past several years.  As an example I broke my collar bone and needed surgery to put it back together.  I was laid up for about a week.  Our friends got together and delivered meals to help us for the week while I recovered.  It would of been pointless if several friends delivered meals on the first day.  What would be the point of my wife and I getting a months worth of meals when all we needed was a weeks worth.  There is no denying the joy felt when several friend express a desire to care for you in times of need.  As the saying goes "my cup overfloweth".

It is very difficult to accept that there are times when a particular virtue may be pointless.  As I mentioned earlier, the joyous feeling when friends care for you when you need help.  However in most lists of virtues there is usually something like "self control".  Basically thinking before you do.  To be truly virtuous some thought has to be in place before the actual act.  Thinking about our circle of friends, we control the way we care for each other by signing for a particular meal and day.  One of the circle finds out if there are any foods that cannot be eaten (allergies or sensitivities).  Usually one person delivers the meal so that the person in need is not inundated with guests.

Going back to what started this all off.  How would we ask these soldiers to think before charging a machine gun nest.  Can we ask them to put bravery aside and surrender.  Unlike a circle of friends soldiers in WWII have been exposed to unimaginable conditions.  There is absolutely no way to understand their emotional and intellectual state.  It would be cruel and inhumane to ask someone to think rationally after several years of war.  This goes for both the Japanese and Allied soldiers.  In some ways this is reinforced by most armies.  The soldiers a given orders to carry out.  They are not allowed to question the orders.  Virtuous or not soldiers do what they are ordered to do.

Where should virtues be enacted and executed?  I would say where they would have the most impact.  In education I would contend that the virtue would be best enacted and enforced by the teacher and students.  Of course principals, parents and librarians help, but the virtue of learning is best left with the teacher and students.  As for our circle of friends we usually have one person who contacts the family that needs help and organizes meals when to drop them off.

As for the original thought of " pointless bravery" I would say that the virtuous acts apply to the leadership.  I will admit that there were several circumstances in WWII that I am unaware of and have no way to fully understand.  However I believe that the need for a virtuous act belonged at the top.  An obvious target would have been the Emperor or possibly those that reported to the Emperor.  This is where compassion, self control and courage could have shortened the war and save hundreds of thousands of people.