Introduction
Allied bombs destroyed much of the manufacturing capabilities of post war Japan. Industries with no war applications were spared. So the importance of those industries was critical to the rebuilding of the Japanese economy. This importance exaggerated the value of the companies and caused the government to overlook dubious practices and, in effect, side with the companies when issues pitted the citizenry against them.
The deep jungles of Vietnam helped the North Vietnamese Army conceal their actions during the Vietnam-American War. The American strategy of defoliating the forests was considered an effective way to overcome that problem. The U.S. military's need to help their troops blurred their understanding of the consequences of their tactics.
These two cases provide opportunities for students to build informed, objective views of how government and industry get into difficult, if not impossible, situations by slowly pushing the boundaries of ethics and morals until it is too late. The questions that follow the situations described continue to be analyzed and the answers continued to be assessed and judged.
Pride, greed, and guilt can cloud righteous vision. Students will research, analyze, and debate the facts, reaching their own conclusions regarding what, when, and how the principal characters could have (or should have) responded. During the unit, they will learn about persistence of chemicals, ecosystems, politics, genetics, and environment.
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