U.S. Military Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

U.S. Military - Term Paper Example However, on joining military, I realized that instead of the deontological point of view I possessed in ethics, the military ethics is more easily explained in the light of teleology and utilitarianism. Admittedly, before joining military and even now I love to adopt the Deontological point of view in ethics. I was of the opinion that the rightness of an action is assessed by the goodness in the action itself; not in the consequences. However, on reaching the military career, I faced a dilemma as I felt, in the first glance, that my own ethical principles would be in sharp contradiction with the basic military ethics. According to Toner (2003), military ethics is rooted in three Os: owing, ordering, and oughting. A look into the concept of owing made me at first feel that if I owe to my comrades, my chain of command, and my nation, I will have to remove integrity from my ethical repertoire. This happened because according to my notions, integrity meant being faithful to ones own conv ictions. So, I reached the conclusion that while totally owing to the chain of command, one will not be able to be loyal to ones own judgments. However, as I probed further into the issue, I made the realization that army life is ‘selfless service’ where there is no ‘me-ism’ or ‘egotism’. This owing in military life is the result of knowing what one is doing and why it is being done. As Sonnenberg (1985) states, in military, ones integrity lies in the fact that one recognizes ones responsibility and obligation towards ones duty by understanding ones moral indebtedness towards those who have given one life and learning. There I made the realization that integrity is also about knowing the ethical basis of ones own actions. Integrity, in military sense, means acting with honor, performing duties with impartiality, and most importantly, avoiding conflicts of interest. The second important foundation of ethics in military is ordering. Admittedly, t his too created a lot of issues in the beginning as I found it contradictory to my own concept of liberty. However, later on I realized that in military, order is not directing subordinates what to do, but is the moral structuring and ethical priorities. The last point that deserves consideration is ‘oughting’. That means making one responsible for ones action. In fact, I always consider this personal responsibility as one among the most important ethical principles a person should possess. One naturally develops the doubt that when one is supposed to obey what directions come from the chain of command, how it is possible to be certain about the outcome of that action. Admittedly, for a soldier in the warfront, it is impossible to think a long time about the implications of following a direction before reaching an ethical judgment. So, it is reasonably justifiable if one claims that one cannot hold personal responsibility for ones actions in military. The best possible way to solve the confusion at this juncture is to bring forth the next important concept, that is, faith. In fact, I strongly believe in the ethical principle of faith. It is this mutual faith that keeps families, social organizations, governments, and even military together. One can say that faith in military is very vital, and in fact, a closer look will prove that just like a soldier’s faith in his nation’s and superior’s decisions, the whole nation and the superiors have faith in the soldier too. To illustrate, every military person is entrusted with a lot of arm

Religion in Indonesia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Religion in Indonesia - Essay Example The Indonesian population is estimated to be 88 percent Muslims, 5.8 percent Protestants, 2.9 percent Catholics, 2 percent Hindus and 0.9 percent Buddhism (Slater, 2004). According to the Indonesian Constitution (McLeod & McIntyre 2007, pp 91): â€Å"the state is based on belief in One God† And,â€Å"the state guarantees the freedom of all residents to worship according to their own religion and beliefs† Although this is written in the constitution, the government does not show as much tolerance, as it acknowledges just five religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, and Buddhism (Gort, Jansen & Vroom, 2004). Religion in Indonesia was considered to be a complicated and unpredictable matter in the beginning of the 1990s. It could not be evaluated without difficulty in terms of social rank, location or race. Even though Islam, Christianity (Roman Catholicism and Protestantism), Hinduism, Buddhism and other religions had a part in affecting the different parts of life, the Indonesian government did not allow religious parties to play a part in politics. The government assured acceptance of some particular religions (agama) which were monotheistic. These religions included Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism. However, these were only tolerated provided that they did not enter the political arena. Since the mid 1970s the government of Indonesia has officially recognized five religions that are mentioned above. Indonesia happens to be the most heavily populated nation with Muslims, globally (Forshee, 2006); about 88 percent of the Indonesians are Muslims (Slater, 2004). In the country, several of the provinces and islands consisted of a majority of the population being Islamic adherents. The range was from more than 50 percent in Kalimantan Bara and Maluku provinces to the degree 97.8 percent in the Special Region of Aceh. In Indonesia the two sects of Christianity, Protestantism and Roman Catholicism, are acknowledged as two separate religions. The Christians in Indonesia are in a minority. Around 5.8 percent of the Indonesians are Protestants while 2.9 percent are Catholics. Then there is Hinduism. The certified figure of Hindus in Indonesia is 10m (2007). According to this figure, Indonesia is globally the fourth largest country with Hindus. Just like Islam and Buddhism, Hinduism was also very much changed so as to suit the Indonesian culture. Even though the caste system existed in form, it was not at all strictly put in practice. Mahabharata and the Ramayana were the Hindu religious classics and they were made permanent cultures amongst the Indonesian followers (Forshee, 2006). They expressed it through shadow puppet and dance presentations. Sikhs are recorded as Hindus in Indonesia due to the fact that the country does not recognize Sikhism as a religion (Kesavapany, Mani & Ramasamy, 2008). The last of the fifth official religion is Buddhism which happens to be the second oldest religion in Indonesia. The 1990 national census showed that greater than 1 percent of the Indonesian population follow Buddhism as their religion. Initially Buddhism was a scholarly doctrine and just slightly related to the paranormal. However, there have now been plenty of changes in it due to politics as well as the individual emotive wish to be protected from the so many fears by a supreme divinity. In several manners, Buddhism is very much distinctive, with every human being responsible for his own person. Any person can perform meditation by himself and does not require any