You Can't Handle The Truth
The controversy raging over the Marine caught on tape shooting a man in a Fallujah Mosque brings to mind a scene in the seminal 90s film A Few Good Men. In it, Tom Cruise's Lt. Caffey asks Jack Nicholson's Col. Jessup for the truth concerning an alleged "Code Red" incident at the base at Guantanamo Bay.
Everyone knows Nicholson's "You can't handle the truth" reply, but few are aware of what follows that famous line. Jessup goes on to explain the "truth" of what goes on in the Marine Corps and how most people really have no clue, indeed they prefer not to:
Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have more responsibility here than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. I know deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you don't want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then question the manner in which I provide it. I prefer you said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand to post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.
This reply could serve as an all purpose answer to those who question that marine, or who made such a big deal about Abu Ghraib, for that matter. We need men like that marine on that wall and deep down we know that most of us could never do what he does. We should only be grateful that there are enough like him that do what they do to allow us to continue to do what we do.
Everyone knows Nicholson's "You can't handle the truth" reply, but few are aware of what follows that famous line. Jessup goes on to explain the "truth" of what goes on in the Marine Corps and how most people really have no clue, indeed they prefer not to:
Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have more responsibility here than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. I know deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you don't want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then question the manner in which I provide it. I prefer you said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand to post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.
This reply could serve as an all purpose answer to those who question that marine, or who made such a big deal about Abu Ghraib, for that matter. We need men like that marine on that wall and deep down we know that most of us could never do what he does. We should only be grateful that there are enough like him that do what they do to allow us to continue to do what we do.
posted by SarahWeddington at 10:24 PM
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