1. If you are a member of the military, do you have to follow all orders? Why?
2. What if you don’t think the orders are appropriate?
3. What happens if you disobey a military order?
4. What is a suitable punishment for not following orders?
5. What if you were ordered to do something you did not agree with? How would you handle it?
6. How do you explain what happened at My Lai?
7. What can be done to prevent such tragedies from happening again?
8. What does My Lai teach us about the nature of evil?
9. Was Calley evil, or was he a more-or-less a “normal person in abnormal circumstances” ?
10. Would Calley have acted differently had he received more training in the rules of warfare? How so?
11. What should the rules of warfare be with respect to treatment of civilians?
12. Who should be considered a civilian (or a non-combatant)?
13. Should there be special rules governing the treatment of women or children? Why?
14. Which was worse—the massacre or the cover-up?
15. What relevance was it that atrocities had been committed against U.S. servicemen in the area in the days immediately preceding the My Lai operation?
16. Were there any heroes at My Lai? What makes a hero able to act heroically? How can we make people more likely to act heroically?
2. What if you don’t think the orders are appropriate?
3. What happens if you disobey a military order?
4. What is a suitable punishment for not following orders?
5. What if you were ordered to do something you did not agree with? How would you handle it?
6. How do you explain what happened at My Lai?
7. What can be done to prevent such tragedies from happening again?
8. What does My Lai teach us about the nature of evil?
9. Was Calley evil, or was he a more-or-less a “normal person in abnormal circumstances” ?
10. Would Calley have acted differently had he received more training in the rules of warfare? How so?
11. What should the rules of warfare be with respect to treatment of civilians?
12. Who should be considered a civilian (or a non-combatant)?
13. Should there be special rules governing the treatment of women or children? Why?
14. Which was worse—the massacre or the cover-up?
15. What relevance was it that atrocities had been committed against U.S. servicemen in the area in the days immediately preceding the My Lai operation?
16. Were there any heroes at My Lai? What makes a hero able to act heroically? How can we make people more likely to act heroically?