On Hidden Cultural Corruptors

http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/06/23/on-hidden-cultural-corruptors/
Date Written:  2017-06-23
Publisher:  Counterpunch
Year Published:  2017
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX21087

The educational institution and military institution both purport to be a source of the nation's highest values, yet they often corrupt and bring out the worst qualities in American citizens.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

In what other major organization do you find hazing? The answer is in the U.S. military. It is used during basic training. According to a study appearing in the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics appearing March 2014, "there is a long history of sanctioned abuse of new recruits by their drill instructors during entry training." Such behavior is particularly characteristic of the army and the marines. Officially, the military now regards this form of hazing as "cruel and unnecessary" and "inconsistent with its core institutional values." However, this is probably more recruiting propaganda rather than a statement of real change. According to the military-associated website Task and Purpose, recruits are still subject to periodic "shark attacks," which means being "harassed and harangued" and having instilled in them "the fear factor." These are still the means by which "the whole discipline process" is created.

Traditionally, the military sees hazing as serving three purposes: (1) it weeds out those "unfit or unwilling to serve"; (2) it allegedly destroys the civilian "principles and norms" of the new recruits so that they can be replaced by those of the military organization; and (3) it allegedly builds "cohesion" among the recruits. Numbers 1 and 3 also apply to the hazing process of fraternities.