War

War bring out some of the most profound parts of human nature. It shows man at his best and worst, often in the same action. I have been watching The Pacific lately; it is a truly incredible miniseries. Much attention is paid to the indomitable will of the Japanese in combat. In the first episode, an injured Japanese soldier calls for help and two American medics come to him. The solder detonates a grenade, killing himself and the two medics. He could have saved his own life but instead he choose to take out two Americans. This pattern is repeated over the course of the show, as Japanese troops choose to sacrifice their own life to take out one or two Americans. Perhaps the most famous example of this strategy is the kamikaze pilots of WWII.

To the Americans, this strategy is both alien and monstrous. Their combatants have abandoned their own hopes of survival out spite. As Leckie writes in a letter home, "The jungle holds both beauty and terror in its depths, the most terrible of which is man. . . There are things that men can do to each other that are sobering to the soul." It is easy to see the monstrosity of the suicide attacker: they vehemently choose death over life. Their actions could be seen as those of a sociopath; however even sociopaths are usually deterred by self-interest. Perhaps the Devil is a better comparison, since he is said to care only about how much harm he causes other and is reckless to the costs of his actions even to himself.

However, self sacrifice is typically associated with the most noble of man's endeavors. And perhaps a noble motive explains the Japanese suicide attacks as well. Whatever is driving them, it is certainly not self-interest. They believe that their actions will keep their comrades safe or will decisively lead to a victory in the war. It is easy to understand how the men who the Americans feared as representing the most monstrous and spiteful aspects of human nature could represent the most heroic and noble aspects of it too. Therein lies what makes war so compelling--it reveals the best and worst sides of man's nature, often in a single act.