Jessup. Conforming and conforming are different things, in the sense that conforming means changing a person's attitudes to fit those of a group, and conforming means adapting one's actions to the desires of another. Dawson was also complying with Kendrick's order to execute the "Code Red" because Kendrick had the credibility to influence his behavior, and if he did not comply he would lose his credibility in his unit (Constable, Schuler, Klaber and Rakauskas ). Erich Fromm states that irrational authority requires force or suggestion to be imposed because no one would submit to being subjugated if they could prevent it (Fromm 126). If what these authors say is true, then Dawson and Downey submitted to an irrational authority by complying with an immoral order because they would be punished if they did not follow the order. This is depicted in the film when it is stated that Kendrick slowed Dawson's progression through the rank system due to his failure to comply with a morally questionable prior order. According to Fromm, if Dawson had wanted to disobey, he would have had enough courage to stand up to a superior officer on his own because he would no longer conform to the ideals of his unit, which would have caused him to lose credibility with