你能做什么?少校再次问自己。您可以和一个直视您眼中的人做什么,说他宁愿死,也不愿在战斗中杀死,一个至少像您一样成熟和聪明的人,您不得不假装谁不是?你能对他说什么?
(What could you do? Major Major asked himself again. What could you do with a man who looked you squarely in the eye and said he would rather die than be killed in combat, a man who was at least as mature and intelligent as you were and who you had to pretend was not? What could you say to him?)
在约瑟夫·海勒(Joseph Heller)的“抓-Cath-22”中,主要的重大努力应对一名士兵所构成的复杂情绪和道德困境,他们对生命的重视程度如此之深,以至于他会选择死亡而不是在战斗中杀人。这种反思凸显了个人面对战争的现实和选择的道德含义时所面临的斗争。少校的权威地位与士兵的认真观点之间的二分法造成了张力,挑战了传统的英勇和职责概念。
这段话提出了有关真实性和在可怕情况下领导力本质的基本问题。少校意识到,他必须在遵守驳回这种情感的社会规范的同时,在承认士兵成熟的同时承认士兵的成熟空间。这种内部冲突强调了战争的荒谬,在那里最勇敢的决定可能被视为怯ward,迫使个人面对他们的信仰和对他们的期望。