When I was in school in England, my English master asked me what I thought of the poem "Casabianca". I said that it was a good thing that he died early, since if he kept up his practice of unthinkingly following orders, he might well take other men to their deaths as well.
This did not please my master, who told me to write on the necessity of obeying orders. So I wrote about Adolf Eichmann, whose defense was that he was merely obeying orders.
He was still displeased, and had me write again on the same subject. So I wrote about Nelson at the Battle of Copenhagen, where he was ordered to withdraw, turned his blind eye on the signal, and won the battle.
When he started making noises about having me write a third time, I complained to the headmaster.
When I was in school in England, my English master asked me what I thought of the poem "Casabianca". I said that it was a good thing that he died early, since if he kept up his practice of unthinkingly following orders, he might well take other men to their deaths as well.
This did not please my master, who told me to write on the necessity of obeying orders. So I wrote about Adolf Eichmann, whose defense was that he was merely obeying orders.
He was still displeased, and had me write again on the same subject. So I wrote about Nelson at the Battle of Copenhagen, where he was ordered to withdraw, turned his blind eye on the signal, and won the battle.
When he started making noises about having me write a third time, I complained to the headmaster.