On
Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in
War and Society ,
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
"Each act of violence eats away at
the fabric of our society like a cancer."
- Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
To say Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman's
On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to
Kill in War and Society is Illuminating is quite
an underestimation. This work is so much more, as it
reveals the resistance of human beings to kill, and
the ability of societies and governments to create killers
despite that resistance. It's a necessary revelation
into the psychology of death and violence on the battlefield
and in civilization.
On Killing focuses on the psychological
trauma associated with violence and killing. The author
is a psychology professor, former Army Ranger, former
paratrooper, and retired U.S Army Lieutenant Colonel.
Despite the impressive resume, Grossman has never been
in a deadly conflict whether here in civilization or
in combat.
In the first two sections, Grossman claims
a large percentage of human beings refrain from using
deadly violence against another human even when faced
with death. Coming from a family with career cops and
soldiers most of whom have been in deadly conflicts,
I was somewhat dubious about his assertions, at least
at first.
He went on to discuss modern conditioning
that overcomes the resistance to kill or affords soldiers
the ability to compensate via distance (cultural, moral,
physical, etc.), mental manipulation, positive reinforcement,
or technology. This claim made me think of training
tools that I experienced in army boot camp, like the
Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES)
which uses small lasers and blank cartridges, allowing
soldiers to shoot at each other during training. (Hits
are recorded by activations of the non-lethal laser
bullets). We trained with human-shaped targets and repeated
chants like "one shot, one kill!" and my platoon's
favorite, "What's the spirit of the bayonet? To
kill, kill, kill!" Grossman backs up his opinion
about the advancements of modern conditioning by comparing
the statistics of soldiers from World War II to soldiers
who fought in Viet Nam. I found his arguments interesting,
perhaps even believable.
Touching upon current societal fascinations
with violence in movies, video games, music and entertainment,
Grossman contends that this creates a desensitization
towards death and violence. By the time I completed
listening to the third section, I found myself in agreement
with these somewhat outrageous claims. On Killing: The
Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
is alarming yet informative.
Throughout this audio book, Grossman proves
his points with examples from years of research and
quotes from combat veterans recounting life-changing
battles. They were very detailed in explaining emotions,
body language, expressions of the living, the dead,
and other things that give readers an in-depth understanding
of their experiences and how they were affected. I found
this very enlightening.
Grossman concluded with an prediction that
America's future will be similar to third world nations,
eroded from within by violence, death, and desensitization
to both. Personally, I found the book surprisingly compelling
and recommend that everyone read it. There may be gaps
in his scholarship, but his conclusions and observations
deserve additional consideration and study.
John
Robert Taylor
9/22/09
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