Captain Torres is able to conduct inhumane actions without facing any consequences. He orders the hanging of the naked rebels, and then used their bodies for target practice (15). In addition, he states he actually enjoys committing cruel acts. During peacetime, the act of killing is regarded as homicide and is even punishable by death. Ironically, soldiers are required to kill the enemy and they are regarded as heroes for doing this. In society, it is never acceptable to take someone’s life for personal matters but it is widely regarded as acceptable and even mandatory in some countries (due to conscription) to take the life of others for the sake of state’s well being. Many soldiers are forced to take the lives of their enemies which can impact them in a negative way. Although Captain Torres is portrayed as an evil and villainous character, he admits killing isn’t easy. Despite this, many soldiers go against their morals and follow their orders without thinking about the consequences. For the love of their country, individuals will risk losing everything important to them, including morality.
In today’s world, any armed force that does not belong to a government is regarded as a terrorist group regardless of their purpose. These freedom fighters have been classified as rebels and they are given harsh punishments. Many revolutionaries such as the barber believe in the cause of the rebellion and yet are not terrorists or murderers (16). The government uses fear in order to oppress the rebels. Unfortunately, the government is not much different than terrorist groups and no longer serves a purpose to exist. The government is supposed to be for the people, not the other way around and by breaking this rule, the government has given a reason for the people to rebel. If the government sees its own people as a threat of rebellion against itself, it will only call for more oppressive action to quell the rebellion that its own oppressive actions are fueling in the first place. History has shown these oppressive actions are the biggest cause of bloodshed. For example, the German people were oppressed under the Treaty of Versailles, and this caused the bloodiest conflict in history, the Second World War. Freedom is one of the most important human values and many people would risk losing everything they have in order to gain freedom. However, in order to ‘protect’ its own people, the government begins to oppress its citizens. Consequently the people will start to see this as a cycle of oppression and start to rebel.
During revolutionary times, individuals must go against their morals in order to fight for a cause they believe in. Soldiers are forced to commit immoral acts for the sake of their country and ideals such as nationalism and patriotism. On the other hand, the government uses propaganda to label freedom fighters as terrorists and make the general public fear them. In conclusion thought of rebellion and oppression are just states of mind which can change morality depending on the situation.
