American Buddhist Net

A documentary examines the ethics and emotional cost of killing on the battlefield.

When it comes to the taking of human life, most societies enforce a stark set of moral strictures. Except under rare and exceptional circumstances, homicide is not only forbidden; it is considered the most heinous, least forgivable act imaginable. But if you join the military, that ethical structure is upended. If you get sent to a war zone and target people who have been identified as "the enemy," killing is not only allowed but also encouraged — even rewarded.

We give surprisingly little thought to the difficulty of making this 180-degree shift or the emotional cost of adopting the combat-killer mind-set. Those are the twin topics of Soldiers of Conscience, a sometimes-profound documentary premiering Oct. 16 as part of the P.O.V. series on PBS.

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