The State, War, and Moral Blindness

One of the darkest parts of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is not alchemy, but the State itself. At first, being a State Alchemist looks like an honor. You get a title, respect, and power. But as the story goes on, we see that this power comes with a heavy price.

The Ishvalan War is the clearest example of this. State Alchemists were not just scientists, they became weapons. They followed orders and destroyed lives. This makes us question something important: is following orders enough to justify your actions?

What makes this even more disturbing is that many characters are aware of what they did. Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, and others carry this guilt. They are not evil people, but they did terrible things. This shows how easy it is to lose your moral sense when you are part of a system.

In real life, history is full of similar examples. People sometimes hide behind authority and stop questioning what is right or wrong. This is what I think the series calls “moral blindness”.

So the question is simple: if the system is wrong, are you still responsible for your actions?