Billy Honaker: History in the Fleet

As a leader it is imperative to take lessons from any and every possible source. Over the course of the semester we have studied many different civilizations, and through those studies we have focused on each civilization’s successes and failures. As these studies went on we were often asked to interpret these civilization’s actions as if we were living back then, but the proposed question about how knowledge learned in this course will impact me as an officer requires me to take a look at things through my morals and ethics. With that being said it is Hammurabi and his law code that I feel I took the most from in this course, because of the harshness of the punishments, but the success of his civilization, as well.

Hammurabi wrote one of the earliest known law codes for his civilization who dwelled in ancient Mesopotamia, and this law code is known for its harshness, but it differs for each class. Laws such as “If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out,” is one example of the harshness, and has also created the popular line known today as “an eye for an eye.” The law code often references laws for slaves or lesser people, where the masters or more privileged are able to punish the lesser people, for example “If a slave say to his master: ‘You are not my master,’ if they convict him his master shall cut off his ear,” just shows the brutality associated with this law code. The point I took from all of this is that as a leader my job will to be o correct or punish my subordinates, but they are human just as I am, and everyone makes mistakes. Hammurabi obviously lived in a completely different time, and his law codes would be unethical in today’s world. As for me, I will be looked to for fairness and good judgment, so I will be required to take the mistakes of my subordinates and think of a fair way to prevent them from making the same mistake twice.

Regardless of how unethical his tactics were, he saw much success. Hammurabi led the civilization for over 40 years with this law code. As a naval officer in today’s Navy, this is not possible. The sailors and marines would not take this kind of constant punishment or fear from a leader, and would not perform well. In a work environment this leadership tactic based around fear would lead to poor work, and possibly worst case scenarios. As a student and officer in training, it is my responsibility to recognize this and place myself in situations where I can think “what would I do?”

Regardless of how long it feels like we have left here; in reality it’s not that long. Soon we will be commissioned officers in the world’s strongest military, and be expected to lead from day one. That is the reason it is so important to capture everything being taught to us, and to look deep into everything to find any potential lesson waiting to be taught.

Word Count: 521

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/ancient/hamframe.asp

Blog Post 5

Christianity and Islam share many characteristics that most people are not aware of. Prior to taking HH215, I, like many others, was quite ignorant to the several similarities shared by Islam and Christianity. I found it interesting that Islam and Christianity share many prophets, both recognize Jesus as a figure in the religion, and hail from the same background. With that being said, I would say that with the current state of the world that the two religions are mutually exclusive.

The two religions share many prophets, most notably prophets such as Jesus, Moses, and Noah. While their roles and stories are not exactly the same, the presence of these people was a shock to me. For example Noah is portrayed as a drunk in the bible, but not in the Islamic religion, because prophets would never be portrayed like that in Islam. Regardless of that, the reality is that the two share this figure. This parallel between the two religions is so shocking due to the fact that today they are perceived as polar opposites.

The most surprising fact is that both religions involve Jesus. Obviously, the Christian religion recognizes Jesus Christ as the most prominent figure, as the Messiah. They worship him as their God. Whereas the Islamic religion as a prophet of God, not as a god. Although the religions don’t view him in the same way, it is very interesting that they both include Jesus as a figure.

The previous two points prelude to the fact that they came from the same background. To someone growing up in this day and age it comes as a surprise that these two religions come from the same roots. Most probably believe the similarities end with monotheism, and nothing other than that. But the truth is that these religions share prophets, and similar beliefs, and come from the same origins, even share Jesus.

But are these religions mutually exclusive? I would say that in this world’s current state that they are. The world is filled with so much hate and conflict, and because of that fact these religions cannot seem to get along. If people on both side realized all of the similarities stated above, as well as the countless others, then these two religions could come together in harmony. For people on both sides they merely see the stereotypical radicalized groups, skin color, and background of each respective religion, and write them off completely. Until people on both sides overcome these differences then the religions will remain exclusive.

Word Count: 420
http://www.islamforchristians.com/greatest-prophets-christianity-islam-prophet-noah/

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1tViPIynK3_bqu_Rzf_DD1kP4Sagpe3EV

Blog Post 4

In Sun Tzu’s Art of War the overarching philosophy seems to be one of execution and care. It is stated in the “Laying Plans” section, the first topic in the book that “the art of war is of vital importance to the State.” The quote symbolizes the importance of tactical decisions, and careful consideration from military commanders to perform their duties. This is an important lesson taught to us at the Naval Academy through our leadership and ethics classes, but also through our military professors who take the time to share their experiences with us.

The part that stands out most to me is point three in this section. It speaks of “Five Constant Factors” in which the art of war is governed. The five points include “The Moral Law; Heaven; Earth; The Commander; Method and Discipline.” In our leadership classes we are constantly asked questions regarding moral decisions, and how to lead sailors and marines properly. This is a foundation that the Naval Academy tries to teach us, because it is imperative for decision making in stressful situations. I believe Sun Tzu understood this and wanted his soldiers to practice this in combat situations. As for heaven and earth I believe that aligns more with the spiritual side of an individual; at the Naval Academy we are free to practice our own spiritual beliefs, and that helps reinforce the moral side of things. It is hard to make moral decisions if one doesn’t look inside their self for improvements, and it is hard to earn respect from subordinates if they do not do this.

The Commander is a huge aspect in the United States military. We are taught from day one to take respect anyone of superior rank. For example, on I-Day we take the oath which states we will “obey the orders of those appointed over us,” this ranges from officers all the way to the President. In order to have a strong, tactful force the members of that force must have full faith and allegiance to its commanders. Wang Tzu is quoted with “Without constant practice (speaking of moral law), the officers will be nervous and undecided when mustering for battle,” strengthening the importance of faith in commanders. If the forces see a nervous leader they will lose confidence, and this is the reason that confidence is pounded in our brains. This confidence is based upon point five, method and discipline. Obviously, our methods and discipline have evolved over time, but both have importance in our respective forces. The stronger discipline and proven methods create confidence, and for a powerful, well trained force, these attributes create a deadly force.

It is impressive to see parallels between the forces of today and yesterday. To see these parallels just reinforces the necessity of a strong foundation.

Word Count: 467

http://www.idph.com.br/conteudos/ebooks/suntzu10.pdf

Blog Post 3

The default train of thought in regards to today’s religion is that of monotheism, and that is a difficult thing to grasp due to the wide range of varying beliefs in the world. Even today there are cultures that still believe in a polytheistic religion, for example, Hinduism and Buddhism, which rank fourth and fifth respectively, are two large polytheistic religions thriving in the world today. We live in a world that is far more connected and understanding of different cultures than the Romans did in 3^rd c. CE. That is why I think it was a valid fear of the Romans to be concerned with the Christians who practiced faith in a different way.

The Roman polytheistic religion, as stated in “Voyages Ch. 7,” had many gods that the citizens were encouraged to worship, from Jupiter to Mars as well as others that were public obligations. The demand for public worship and belief of these gods is that it created things for the government. Also stated in “Voyages” is the fact that officials would spend government money on public cults for these gods. A strong following of these different gods would provide the government with an escape on mistakes made, like losing a battle could be placed on a lack of worship to Mars, which could then fall back on the citizens. The government was given the power to strike fear into its citizens with the use of the divine figures, which then gave the ability to govern the people with less backlash.

The spark of Christianity gave the Romans fear. It was something new, something different, and in human nature they did not respond well. The Romans knew that they would miss out on the opportunity to completely control the Christians, because they saw similar repercussions from the Jews, as read in “Voyages.” When the Romans seized control of Judaea they were faced with confrontation and challenges from the Jews in the area. The difference in religion creates a barrier between civilizations, and often leaves one viewed as “barbaric” or “uncivilized” due to their difference of thinking. This barrier for the Romans created fear, and caused them to oppress Jews and Christians.

This difference leads to an “immoral” view of the Christian’s actions. The reason for this immorality is strictly due to the difference between the religions. Cultures get used to a certain way of thinking and path of life, and the Christians challenged that. It can be compared to having children out of wedlock in today’s society, where many people with strong religious beliefs view it as wrong, but it’s just another way of life for some. Similarly, Christians did not agree with the polytheistic religion, so they embarked on their separate journey. No one is right or wrong, but it did scare the Romans, and understandably so.

Word Count: 471

http://www.pewforum.org/2017/04/05/the-changing-global-religious-landscape/

“Voyages” book in weekly readings

Difference of Democracies

The glaring difference between the Democracy we have today, versus what was in place in ancient Athens is the level of representation in government. The idea of Democracy shares some similarities and differences, but that is the one that stands out the most to me. The modern idea of Democracy is one that includes all people, and that is pressed into our minds from a young age, which in turn makes it stand out much more when they exclude people from government activities.

In ancient Athens they refused to let women, slaves, or people who were not born in Athens vote or take place in government. Obviously, values of our civilizations are different, but it is to the definition of Democracy that we have been taught since a young age that I am comparing. They, like early on in America’s Democracy, only let wealthy, land owning men vote and take part in government activities. It takes time to get a system correct, and that is why after they began to struggle, the Athenians came together and held an assembly where they voted upon things such as a wider range of government participants. A major part of a successful democracy is citizen participation, which they realized and considered expansion of eligible citizens.

In America, things also started lopsided and only favored one faction of the U.S. population, but years and years later America experiences a Democracy where all citizens (above 18) are eligible to vote. This style of Democracy is much different than that of Athens, but it is what we have come to know as Democracy, and is also a government “for the people.” All people in the United States are able to vote, unless they are not a citizen or under 18 years of age, and that creates a great deal of representation in government from the people of the U.S. It also strengthens the Democratic values of the government as it forces candidates to try and sway the citizens in their favor, and can assist in getting real results from political figures as they work to keep their job.

It can be said that voting and participation is down in America, and is not well represented in government. According to an article on Pew Research voter participation has “surged” in most states compared to the last primaries. These stats are coming from polls that usually see low participation, so if these are up, the next presidential election will probably see record turn outs. People can also argue that states can use gerrymandering as a way to sway results and skew representation. This is an unconstitutional action if done so to sway the votes of ethnic groups, but is legal if done so for partisan reasons, according to an article by The Washington Post. The article says that the Supreme Court is finally looking into making a ruling on whether it is legal or not.

Word Count: 488

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/10/03/turnout-in-this-years-u-s-house-primaries-rose-sharply-especially-on-the-democratic-side/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/08/07/the-supreme-court-will-soon-consider-gerrymandering-heres-how-changes-in-redistricting-could-reduce-it/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f06ecae14416