Collective Punishment

It's not often these days when I find something noteworthy to post about, but today I feel particularly determined to discuss one of the main reasons I dislike the military. The reason I've taken so long to write about this is because I've never really formed a cogent argument about it till recently, and after this week I am determined to present my clearest exposition on regimentation. This is partly to clear my brain of all its internal agitation, and partially to correct the notion some outsiders have about the army being simply about training. "How hard could it get?" is the question that irks me the most.

There are many things that make up the Army Experience. Combat training, physical training, lack of freedom, staying away from family for extended periods of time; these are some of the few. To me though, the defining characteristic, nay, its most abhorrent characteristic I should say, is regimentation. Regimentation means discipline, means having everyone look the same, think the same things, move the same way, and otherwise behave as one man. On paper, this does not sound that bad. After all, standardisation and discipline are crucial to the success of any army. Indeed they are, and for this reason it is a necessary evil. But while I recognise the necessity, not for a moment do I lose sight of the greatness of its evil. And its evil is this: regimentation means that men are inevitably punished for the mistakes of others.

Put it this way: If I make a mistake, I do not mind being punished. The punishment is justifiable. When I say I "do not mind", it does not mean I like punishment. I hate it. What I mean is that I feel the punishment is fair, since I myself made a mistake. However, when I am punished because some people in my company made a mistake, that is when I feel great indignation. I understand the logic behind such a policy. In order for, say, 50 men to work together as a team, everyone must be made to understand that their individual actions affect the group. One of the clearest ways of conveying such a message is by punishing the whole group each time someone messes up. That way, people will be forced to work together in order to minimise individual errors.

It is a harsh policy, an unpleasant policy, but unfortunately, it seems to be the only policy that works. At the very least, it has been tried, tested and proven down through the ages. And yet, I cannot accept it. If the policy had a 100% success rate, it wouldn't be so bad, but the problem is that no matter how much punishment you mete out, there will always be the incorrigible few, and under such a policy, a few is enough to cause misery for the many. The continuous usage of collective punishment is frankly very stressful to me, and very unfair.

I cannot adequately explain to you the feeling of trying to complete your own work as best as you can, while at the same time worrying about others, because doing your best is not enough. If others screw up, you will pay for their mistakes. For 18 years, I was brought up to be accountable for my own actions. In school you were paid or punished for what you did. Other people's business remained strictly other people's business. That was the environment I grew up in.

When I entered the army I suddenly entered a world where what you did was not enough to ensure you a good life. That would depend on whether others cooperated with you. And it has proven to be a most stressful experience. It is not the training per se that bothers me. If training was all we went through I would still be upset at my situation, but less indignant about it. The problem is that I go through training and collective punishment. That increases the stress factor tremendously. It's the one thing that drags down my mood on book-in days, that brings about a black depression in my heart each time I think about camp. Yes, training, physical or combat, staying away from home, marching, all these things are tolerable, but it is the regimentation, the stifling of one's freedom and individuality, the constant fear of punishment no matter what you, THAT is what makes my life so miserable. Henceforth my friends, do not assume that my distress stems merely from training. It is the least of my worries.

That being said, I realised, as I thought about it, that collective punishment is part and parcel of life. In life the actions of others will affect you no matter what, and many a time we will have to suffer for the mistakes of others. Indeed the more I thought about it the more I realised that despite my intense dislike of the situation, it was the very same situation that drove Christ to the cross, where the faultless Lamb of God was slain for the sins of the whole world. He suffered the ultimate punishment for the mistakes of everyone else. And it is this thought that stops me in my tracks. In fact, it lightens my burden, and makes life in camp more bearable, knowing that I have a Captain who sympathises with me, who knows what I'm going through, having Himself been there and done that. It always amazes me in camp to discover the great variety of situations in which God's promise to Paul comes true, that His grace is indeed sufficient for me, because His strength is perfected in weakness. This is the answer a suffering world requires. Not an instant, miraculous deliverance, though that assuredly has been vouchsafed for the future, but rather the present, comforting assurance of a Brother in arms.

Smooth sailing, my foot

Ok, time for another rare post. For all those who have yet to find out, I've been posted to the navy, and no, I am not going to become some vulgar, tatooed Singaporean version of Popeye or Jack Sparrow, although, as I told Owen, this adds new meaning to my title as captain of the 2005 debating team. In reality my job is far more mundane, or at least, I hope it is. For now I think it involves mainly pushing buttons, but I haven't been assigned a specific post yet since I haven't been trained. I will not say more about my posting here because, well, if walls have ears, then the Internet has too many eyes. With regards to my feelings about my current situation, all I will say is that I hope I will be able to tolerate one month of inanity because after that, my life, from what I gather, will literally be smooth sailing. Right now, frustrated tedium would be a better term to describe it.

Moving on, I went down to ACJC yesterday to watch my new juniors debate. Thankfully they show much more potential than their immediate predecessors, and are far humbler and willing to learn. Of course if you think about it, the person who admits he has still much to learn is often the wiser person. In any case, these are diamonds in the rough who just might be able to move past the quarter finals at this year's Nationals. It remains to be seen however, what the impact the entry of polytechnic teams into the championships will have on the dynamics of the debating circle. I foresee some interesting arguments.

Anyway, those few hours spent listening to debates made me realise how much I missed being on the floor. Hopefully I'll be free enough to adjudicate in the Nationals. After all, if I can't debate, I guess judging would be the next best thing, painful though it often is...