Moral law: foundations and ethical principles

Moral Law

Sun Tzu understood that if a country or a culture is to go to war against an enemy, then the leader of that country or culture must have the total support of his people and particularly of his warriors. He describes this phenomenon as the "Moral Law" which he asserts it the first of five "constant factors" in the art of going to war.

Do morality, ethics, or the moral law cause people to be enthusiastically supportive of their leader? First, the answer is yes to the question. Secondly, as to why this is a true statement, when the topic of "moral law" is raised -- in the sense that citizens (and soldiers) are in "complete accord with their ruler…undismayed by any danger" -- it should also be understood that there is another concept very similar to moral law. It is called "nationalism," and according to iconic author George Orwell, patriotism is "…devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life," which people believe to be the "best in the world" but people have no desire to push it on other nations. But nationalism, Orwell continued, is the feeling that one's way of life "…is superior to others…and this feeling can lead a group to impose their way of life on others" (Lyon, 1011).

While Sun Tzu's message in the Art of War is basically about strategies and tactics that military commanders should follow when engaged in preparations for war -- and in war itself -- the question for this paper relates to citizens following their leaders "enthusiastically and fearlessly" vis-a-vis the "moral law," and that was the case when the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.

TWO: How does the moral law cause people to fearlessly follow their leader? Clearly the "moral law" was the over-riding factor in Congress giving President George W. Bush the legal authority to militarily push dictator Saddam Hussein from power and destroy the alleged "weapons of mass destruction." Of course it turned out there were no weapons of mass destruction, but the way in which Bush presented the case to the American people stirred a sense of strong patriotism leading to nationalism within the American populace.

In professor Gerald Webster's peer-reviewed article ("American Nationalism, the Flag, and the Invasion of Iraq") the author explains that the "spike in… nationalism inhibited an honest debate over the wisdom of invading Iraq…" about eighteen months after the terrorist attacks (Webster, 2011, p. 2). He said the increased use of the United States flag by the U.S. government at that time was meant to build up the patriotism into nationalism and even into jingoism (extreme nationalism). Moreover, Webster quotes Steve Grosby who points out that patriotism is being loyal without hatred of those outside "one's nation"; but nationalism "repudiates civility and tolerance of difference" (Webster, 3). The moral law has the same intended effect -- to become hostile towards "the enemy" and follow the leader even if it is wrongheaded and based solely on a nationalistic fever being stirred up among the people.