History in the Fleet

The early history between Christians, Muslims, and Jews hold many parallels in terms of the tensions the United States and other countries have today within the Arabian Peninsula. When Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was forced from his hometown of Mecca up to Medina, his Muslim followers came with. Arabs living in Medina hoped the surge of Muslims would help them overcome the Jewish population and thus allow them to gain control of the city. Muhammad, however, taught toleration of people of the book. There is, however, within the Quran, a feeling of superiority to the Jews and Christians. According to Sura 2:112 “The Jews say: “The Christians err in their path.” The Christians say, “The Jews err in their path.” Yet both read the same Scriptures. God will on the Day of Judgment render a decision on their disputes.” Another passage in Sura 2 states that Allah will tolerate disbelievers for a while but will eventually destroy them. After the Battle of the Trench, where Muslim forces thwarted a siege from the Arab Quraysh tribe, the Muslims attacked a Jewish tribe that had betrayed them. The 700 men were beheaded and the women and children were sold into slavery. More battles ensued between Muslims and Jews, as well as Christians, most notably in the crusades. After the crusades, the Muslims had once again established control of the Holy Lands.

In recent years, relationships between Muslims and many westerners, including Christians, have deteriorated. This is largely due to the actions of the Islamic State, but began after World War I when Western powers drew up new boundaries in the Middle East. In 1941, Sayyid Mawdudi founded a political organization intending to create a solely Islamic state. He claimed that the will of Allah had been violated due to a relaxing of Islamic values by the political elite. This idea of a theocratic Islamic state took hold especially in areas with strong Shi’ia presence. This includes modern Iran, as well as the Taliban in Afghanistan. The terrorist actions of groups from these areas have led western nations to go to war in order to protect themselves. These major attacks have again sparked sentiments that pit the religions against each other. Differences in religious beliefs once again strain relationships between the faiths, as they did during the crusades. Muslims often view the Holy Trinity as a form of polytheism, while Christians view Muhammad as fraudulent. Different, arguably narrow interpretations of the Qur’an also seem to promote a war against the infidels. As a naval officer, it will be important to understand the origins and reasoning behind the religion of the people we are fighting. When building relationships with a region, it is important to be understanding of the culture.

-Matt Malone

Word Count: 457

Qur’an, trans. Ahmed Ali (Princeton University Press) ISBN: 0-691-07499-2

“Reacting to the Past-The Second Crusade: The War Council of Acre, 1148.” Islam and the Qur’an, pp. 181-211.

http://religion.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-11

A Modern Crusader

The article “Roxcy Bolton, Feminist Crusader for Equality, Including Naming Hurricanes, Dies at 90,” speaks about one woman’s fight for equality as a crusade. From Florida, she was an avid feminist who founded the first rape treatment center in the U.S. and in terms of law enforcement and medical services, she brought about a stronger focus on preventing rape and treating it. Bolton played a large part in advocating against naming tropical storms solely after women. She argued that it was unfair for women to be entirely associated with this type of disaster. For this she received heavy resistance from a primarily male weather forecast industry. Eventually the National Organization for Women assisted her by sending a resolution to the National Hurricane Center. Her crusade included other such actions as working to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. The amendment would have established constitutional equality for women, although it was unsuccessful. Bolton did manage to convince airlines to give pregnant flight attendants maternity leave, when in the past, they were simply fired. She also advocated heavily for Women’s Equality Day, which President Nixon proclaimed in 1972.

I believe that using the term ‘crusade’ in a modern context to describe something people feel strongly about is a fair use of the word. No longer does ‘crusade’ have to be solely connected to the Holy Wars of the Christians, nor any sort of religious war. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term ‘crusade’ can refer specifically to the original military expeditions of the Christians in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, and war blessed by the Church, or “an aggressive movement or enterprise against some public evil, or some institution or class of persons considered as evil.” The latter is the definition of ‘crusade’ as used by the article. Language is never solidified, but always changing and expanding. The modern definition of ‘crusade’ came about because of the historical definitions, but is now completely legitimate. Thus, there is not necessarily a better word, but synonymous words would be ‘campaign,’ ‘fight,’ or ‘battle.’ As early as 1786, Thomas Jefferson wrote an article to an American professor George Wythe emphasizing the significance of public education for the future of America. In it he states “…Preach, my dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance; establish and improve the law for educating the common people.” Throughout America’s history especially, this contemporary version of ‘crusade’ has been adopted.

-Matt Malone

Word count: 400

https://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/92uva/92facts1.htm

http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/45256?rskey=yJ1bOb&result=1#eid

Sun Tzu vs. USNA

The philosophy laid out by Sun Tzu demands much of a military leader. He claims that the best way to defeat your enemy is to capture them without fighting. It is a peaceful strategy focused on leaving the opponent’s army and nation intact rather than recklessly obliterating them. He describes is as “the method of attacking by stratagem of using the sheathed sword.” Ideally, a general would prevent an enemy’s plans from occurring entirely and at very worst, a general would besiege a city with a lengthy operation. Sun Tzu does, however, describe certain scenarios where it is reasonable to attack the enemy, such as when their army is anything less than five times as large as the enemy’s. When their army is inferior in numbers to that of the enemy, he claims that the enemy’s army must be avoided, and if inferior in every way, they should flee.

At the Naval Academy, we learn in courses such as ethics, the meaning of just war and proportionality. Ideally, we use only enough force as is required to accomplish the mission. Excessive force leads to unnecessary destruction and, potentially, to loss of life. This teaching is in accordance with Sun Tzu’s philosophy. Where our philosophy differs is in the notion of being outnumbered. Whereas Sun Tzu recommends fleeing from the enemy, we are taught to fight against all odds to defeat the enemy. This can be done through superior planning, training, and determination. This actually agrees with Tzu’s statement “he will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.” The Navy, as a whole, takes preparation very seriously, so as not to be outwitted by the enemy.

If the assumption were made that the United States military was actually inferior in every way to the force of one of our enemy’s, I believe our military would show courage and face the enemy against the odds. Such was the case during the Revolutionary War. There are examples in the modern age, however, where it is wise to negotiate with an enemy instead of attacking them, even if U.S. forces appear to be superior. For example, it would be dangerous to attack a country that possesses nuclear weapons. If the entirety of their nuclear arsenal is not destroyed, they could potentially use such a weapon in retaliation. This scenario, called mutually assured destruction, is a limiting factor on how the United States can use its force, and was not a relevant factor during the time of Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu’s statement “he will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight” holds relevant with this case.

Much of what Sun Tzu states in “The Art of War” holds true to what we are taught at the Naval Academy. The one major difference lies in being outnumbered. We are taught to be courageous, striving for tactical superiority, when the odds are against us, yet wise in recognizing when our force could spark worldwide destruction.

Matt Malone

Sources: Sun Tzu’s The Art of War

Word count: 495

Christianity Through the Lens of Polytheism

From the early Roman perspective, Christianity was rightly controversial. To properly understand the meaning of the practices and teachings of Christianity, one has to be closely affiliated with the religion. There are several misunderstandings that made Christianity very controversial, among them, cannibalism, incest, association with undesirables, and flaunting their disrespect of state sanctioned gods.

First, as recorded by the Gospel of John, Jesus promised his followers eternal life if they ate His flesh and drank His blood. What He actually gave to his followers was bread. Although the bread was His body, it was not literally human flesh, but His divine flesh. Similarly, the wine He served was his blood, but not blood as we think of as human blood, but rather divine blood. This idea of transubstantiation was completely foreign to the Romans, and instead appeared as a form of cannibalism.

Christianity did not only appear to promote cannibalism, but also incest. Jesus referred to everyone as His brothers and sisters. Christians also gathered together to celebrate the Agape feast, which is translated as “love fest.” This led to confusion that brothers and sisters were performing incestuous acts. All Christians, however, were not brother and sister in a biological sense, but rather brothers and sisters of the faith, and the feast was simply a time of fellowship. Jesus’ desire to welcome and love all people also drew some disdain from Romans. Pliny the Younger, a provincial governor, describes two deaconesses as slave-women. Slaves, the poor, and the sick were considered to be undesirable by the wealthy and powerful. Those such as Pliny the Younger could not understand why Christ sought not only wealthy and powerful, but the poor and forgotten as well.

Finally, many in the Roman Empire worshipped gods such as Jupiter and Mars, as well as other state-supported gods. The state, in fact, instituted public obligations to worship such gods and conduct sacrifices for them. There were also many cults supported monetarily by public officials. Christians, and also Jews, only worshipped a single God, and refused to worship the numerous Roman gods. Such officials, like Pliny, were angered by their refusal, and often threatened punishment if followers did not renounce their faith. Not worshipping the gods meant they would be angered, and thus cause instability within the empire. When things did go wrong, they were easily blamed because of this lack of appeasement to the gods. The final straw came when Jesus upset the Jewish leaders by critiquing abuses in their traditional practices. Word had also spread that Jesus would lead an uprising in Palestine against the Romans. Pontius Pilate agreed to crucify Jesus because of this threat of instability.

Word Count: 443

Voyages ch.7 Rome and Christianity0001.PDF

https://www.bible.com/bible/

Blog Post 2: Direct vs. Indirect Democracy

In my opinion, the representative (American) model of democracy exemplifies a better way to govern than the direct (Athenian) model. The larger populations of countries in the 21^st Century make direct democracy much more difficult to carry out due to the number of citizens. The total population of Athens and Attica around 400 BC was in the hundreds of thousands, which is significantly smaller than the current population of the United States, which hovers around 325 million. Another disadvantage of Athenian democracy was that non-citizens, including women, metics, and slaves, were not allowed to vote or take part in politics. This meant that over half of the population automatically did not have a say in government. Not only did they not have a say, but the women and slaves took on the labor and chores required by the farm and/or household while the men went off to participate in the Assembly.

In the American system of representative democracy, each state is represented equally through the Senate, while also giving each state representation based on population in the House of Representatives. Some may argue that representatives fail to carry out the policies favored by their constituents. Not all representatives vote in a consistent manner that represents the views of the majority of their constituents, but instead vote based on what they believe is right, just, and beneficial to the whole. For example, Republicans and Democrats although initially opposed, worked closely together during the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The citizens, however, if unhappy and displeased with their representative’s views and voting record, can elect a new representative during the next election cycle. It is also true that some members of the Assembly in Athens did not necessarily have the population’s best interests in mind, but were instead focused on advancing their own agendas. During the Threshold of Democracy reacting to the past activity, one speaker sought to convince the Assembly to make an alliance with Persia. She touted the economic benefits of such an alliance while her actual goal was to gain personal power. Not only may some Assembly speakers want to advance their own agendas, some may be ignorant on important political issues. For example, those who travel from the country into Athens to participate may be unaware of certain issues affecting Athens. Representatives today almost always receive high levels of education and training before taking on the role of deciding laws that will affect the entire nation, and possibly the entire world.

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.html

https://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/educational/lesson1.html

https://www.uniteamerica.org/politicians_going_against_party

Does Tyranny Still Exist?

*The article reviewed does not necessarily reflect my own opinion nor that of the U.S. Navy.

In Andrew Sullivan’s article “America Takes the Next Step Toward Tyranny” from NYMag, he asserts that tyranny has not only gained footing in America, but that the second phase of tyranny has begun. Early in the article, Sullivan discusses the first phase of tyranny as described by Plato. This phase is a period of calm, during which the tyrant cancels debts, redistributes the land, among other things with the purpose of pleasing the people. Sullivan points to President Trumps tax cuts as one such act. This early phase of tyranny closely fits the pre-democratic definition of tyranny because the leader is beneficent and likely popular. Oxford English Dictionary defines “tyrant” several different ways including “(especially in ancient Greece) a ruler who seized absolute power without legal right.” While President Trump does not fit that description, it is important to note that the definition does not mention cruelty by the leader or displeasure from the citizens. As described by the article, the tyrant in the first phase could fit this definition.

As Plato’s narrative goes on to the second phase, however, the leader expels from government those who speak against him and replaces them with his allies. This description of a tyranny fits the post-rise of democracy stereotype that tyrannies are good at first but become corrupted. He writes about how President Trump has replaced many high ranking government officials with people who will do what he wants. Aside from this purge that Plato describes in his description of tyranny, he also writes about the need for a tyrant to stir up war in order to validate the need for a leader. Sullivan argues that President Trump does this through rhetoric wars with our allies and trade wars with nations such as China, as well as with increasing our military presence overseas. At the end of the article, he writes that as the President is backed into a corner, he may employ this greatest distraction, war. Oxford English Dictionary also defines “tyrant” as “a cruel and oppressive ruler.” This definition is closer to the second phase tyrant that the article describes, and a more fitting description of how the article uses the word tyrant.