But this does not just apply to soldiers. When we, civilians, permit any authority, military, political, religious or the social consensus to determine how we understand and respond to a situation that is presented to us, that authority stands in place of our conscience and overrides empathy. And in the absence of conscience - empathy plus ethics - the person we are harming is no longer a fully sentient person and neither are we.

I am reminded of the MIlgram Experiment. It's well known but its implications should, I think, be more fully explored if we want to understand this moment in human history.