Question: What are my priorities?
1. Love Myself = Mind, Body, Soul & Actions. Pursue my ultimate potential and in doing so try not to inflict cruelty, pain & destruction.*
2. Treat Others As I Would Like To Be Treated.*
*To Learn is To Live. I try to: Practice Love, Faith, Hope, Charity and Empathy.
These two golden rules are always evolving and changing as modifications are necessary as circumstance and experience dictate. They are guide posts I try to live by.
Question: Specify whether Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness is more important that loss of Life the one or the many.
No, Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness is dependant upon Life the One and the Many, just as, Life the One and the Many are dependant upon one upon the other Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness. (Life in the above statements can be - inanimate and animate, plant or mineral, a self sustained human independent of the creative vessel or sustenance by aid of machine, quality of as is referred to in part above see * but not limited to etc.) (Liberty in the above is meant in terms of person and in the context of modern society as described in the US Constitution a living document and the support material and logic on which it was based and its accepted interpretations.) (Happiness in the above statement refers to but not limited to Property.)
Question: What makes a soldier choose to kill someone in Iraq or Afghanistan, or wherever?
Individuals give up certain rights and freedoms of a civilian when entering into service of the US of A. A serviceman does not choose to kill as a rule. Rules of engagement, circumstances and the fallibility of man create situations where a caca happens. Taking of and or loss of life is inevitable when in the course of human events basic natural and inalienable rights are put at unacceptable risk or are perverted. These are the situations where we/US of A generally put our armed servicemen in harms way. It is these situations where we order our forces act to insure the reconstitution of an environment for natural order to be restored. This enforcement can and does require the taking of life, the destruction of property and suspension or limiting of civil liberties. This invites chaos and an environment where the very nature of destruction and cruelty leads to the greatest of heights and sacrifice made by men; the best example of human excellence. Conversely it is also the nature of liberation and war to unearth the worst atrocities that can be conceived and carried out by man. aka War is Hell. This is not a phenomena of our times but repetition of the history we as a human race have failed to learn from therefore continue to repeat.
Question: At what point do I decide to pull the trigger when someone is pointing a gun at me?
If I, and or someone I am implicitly or explicitly tasked to protect, have been threatened with loss of life by someone pointing a gun at me, being unable to rely on law enforcement to safely disengage me from this situation yet find myself with a loaded gun able to end this situation by shooting to kill? I would shoot without hesitation. (I think this is true but I would not know for sure unless faced with the real situation. If this occurred I feel I would probably experience an out of body experience..looking down at my maimed dead body or walk with a limp for the rest of my life.. having shot off 3 of my toes on my left foot with the second shot.)
Question: Killing is wrong, right? Life is more important.
Life is important but not all killing is wrong.
Question: What drives my decision?
My decisions are based on the circumstances and context of the situation I find myself in at any given time. Do I need to do anything? If I do then I am usually influenced and guided by my knowledge, experience, application of common sense or logic and a reliance on my personal beliefs. I also look for advice and or input of others I respect and trust. I know life/things do not necessarily allow for the time we would like to have to digest and ponder before being forced to take action; in those cases I do the best I am capable of at the time.