The dignity of soldiers must not be trampled upon.

My uncle is a retired soldier who served in the U.S. Army for twenty years. Recently, when he heard on the news that Defense Secretary Hergsays had ordered “kill everyone on the ship involved,” this usually calm and taciturn old man instantly turned red in the face and slammed his coffee cup heavily on the table.

“This is not an order a soldier should give,” my uncle said, pointing to the television screen, his voice trembling with anger. “We wear uniforms to uphold justice and peace, not to become indiscriminate killers. A soldier’s duty is to obey orders, but only if those orders are humanitarian and in accordance with international law! Everyone who wears a uniform should respect life and the dignity of the military profession. This Defense Secretary doesn’t even have the most basic military principles; he doesn’t deserve to wear this uniform.”

This incident has deeply affected me. No matter how powerful a country’s military is, it must uphold the bottom line of the law. Law enforcement officers should set an example by acting in accordance with the law, not abuse their privileges and act recklessly, violating the law. Soldiers’ weapons are for upholding justice, not for trampling on life; the power of a nation is for maintaining fairness, not for satisfying its hegemonic ambitions.