Hello Spark Zen supporters, in this podcast, I analyze a harrowing episode of Charlie Brooker’s prescient sci-fi series Black Mirror. The episode is titled “Men Against Fire” and it left an indelible impression because of its gritty Dharmic lesson on the origin of conflict, which as you might surmise, originates within our perceptual process. If you’d like to read the printed version of this talk, you can find it under the post “A Tale of Drunken Enemies.” Unfortunately, the conflict between individuals, between governments and citizens, and between countries still rages on because we’re conditioned to look outside ourselves for the causes and conditions of our suffering. Thank you for listening. Bowing from the glorious mountain valley, Rev. Shōren Heather
“We need to take [the Roaches] out if humankind is going to carry on in this world,” one of the soldiers says.
In the “Men Against Fire” episode, soldiers are manipulated by military neuro-implants to perceive enemies as monstrous ‘roaches.’ This weaponizes the soldiers’ consciousness so they can kill the enemy without remorse. In this talk, I
discuss how perceptions can distort reality and result in conceptual proliferation, causing suffering for the perceiver and violence toward the “other,”
explain the role of mindfulness in becoming aware of and breaking free from these distortive mental patterns,
offer suggestions on how we can ground ourselves when we’re experiencing reactivity
and encourage listeners to question their perceptions of reality.
Charlie Brooker was influenced by his reading of a WWII general’s analysis of what prevents soldiers from aiming to kill. In General S.L.A.’s 1947 book, he discusses his findings from interviewing soldiers about their combat experience.
Two of the general’s findings were:
75% of individual riflemen engaged in combat never fired at an exposed enemy for the purpose of killing, even when directly threatened
civilian norms against taking life were so strong many conscripts could not bring themselves to kill, even at the risk of their own lives.
Unfortunately, instead of suggesting that we stop waging war and turning young people into killing machines, General Marshall recommended altering military training to “increase the percentage [of soldiers] willing to engage the enemy with direct fire. Many were incorporated by the US military; Marshall reported far more men fired weapons during the Vietnam War.[15]
