Ethics: Who’s at fault for the missile strike which killed civilians?
Aboard a military ship somewhere around the world, an order is given by a Captain to launch a missile to a designated target. The missile is launched, and ends up killing 8 civilians and 2 children. Who is to blame for these innocent deaths?
From an outside perspective, you may claim it’s the person that pushed the big red launch button. Or you may blame the Captain for ordering the sailor to push the button, or the person who ordered the Captain to make the order. Or, likely, you blame everyone involved, from the button pusher all the way up to the president.
Aside from the obvious involved, who else is to blame? Could you also blame the person that made the button? How about the manufacturers who created missile? Or the people that designed and engineered the missile?
How about the people that worked to engineer and build the ship, who were not involved in the weapon systems at all? Were they to blame for the deaths of the civilians?
If you ask each person involved, do you believe they would blame themselves for the killing of civilians? I doubt it. People tend to find a way to justify their actions and ethical choices, whether they were the person launching the missile, the Captain giving orders, or the manufacturers/engineers.
The Captain may blame the button pusher, but they may also place blame on the person that ordered him to make the order to launch the missile. The button pusher likely justifies his/her actions by stating that they were just taking orders. Or that if they didn’t do it, then someone else would have. Or that the missile strike should have killed someone that would have done harm to their host nation.
The manufacturers and engineers of the missile / missile systems don’t place blame on themselves either. They tell themselves that the missiles are meant for defense purposes.
The engineers and manufacturers that worked on non-weapon system systems for the ship likely don’t place any blame on themselves, either. After all, they didn’t work on the weapon system that is directly related to the launching of the missiles and the killings, right?
The point is, ethics can be tough. People involved will often justify their actions to themselves and others, place blame when they can, and generally convince themselves that they are innocent. But we all have a responsibility to think things through and take the correct actions.
Take a step back to think about the actions you are taking on a daily basis and the things you work on. Are you really all that innocent? Are you making the decisions that match your ethics? At the end of the day, we can’t always rely on others to make the correct, ethical choice. But you can ensure that you are making the choices that match your ethics on a daily basis.
