Examples Of Ethical Issues In A Few Good Men

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In the short story “A Few Good Men” by Aaron Sorkin, their several ethical issue that take place. The issues range from conflicts between action and duty, to the abuse of power by Lt. Col. Nathan Jessep. Some of the more serious issues are duty to always follow orders and the several unethical cover-ups. In the beginning of the story, Lance Cpl. Harold W. Dawson and Pfc. Louden Downey were given a code red order on Pfc. William T. Santiago. A code red is an unethical order of extrajudicial punishment and is considered a form of hazing. They were to tape his hands and legs, gag him and to shave his head, but instead he died during the code red. This is unethical because it is morally wrong and violates basic human rights, ethical principles,…show more content…
One is that they may have valued their unit code over everything else. They lived by the unit code of “Unit, Corps, God, and Country.” When they were given the order they may have thought that upholding their code, and that it was just another order. The also may have carried out this order because they were afraid. Fear is a powerful motivator and can push people to do things they wouldn’t normally do. Downey might have been afraid because he received a code red for dropping his rifle, and was punished for helping someone when they received a code red and were denied food. If I were able to give advice to Dawson and Downey, I would tell them to follow their chain of command and report the unethical activity. They were caught in a ethical dilemma and were forced to make a decision that wouldn’t be moral or ethically right. I would have told them to report to the higher ups and continue reporting until the issue was properly handled. Another ethical issue was when Cmdr. Walter Stone covered up Santiago medical issues. He followed the order, given by Jessep, and made it appear as if Santiago was really poisoned. Santiago had a history of medical problems that interfered with his physical training, and eventually leads to his death. This unethical and should have been handled
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