Whistleblowing is an effective method of causing a reaction or change due to a revelation of information that is supposed to be kept secret that is unmoral in nature. Looking into the semantics of the video that was released in 2007 by a journaling team titled “Collateral Murder” you will see that the situation has many different perspectives tied to it. The video depicts the US military engaging with what looks to be men suspected with heavy weaponry and targets that were confirmed unofficially. Progressing further into the video you will see that a potential rocket propelled grenade is identified and as a result the Apache helicopter then decides to shoot at the designated targets accordingly. After the fire ceased, a van then pulls up to the scene in an attempt to save the lives of those who were shot by the helicopter. This leads to those individuals in the van meeting the same fate as their colleagues. During the chaos that ensued, US members engaged in questionable rhetoric and seemed at times to be enjoying what they were doing to the victims of the helicopter. At the same time, they were also heard on the communication lines begging for a reason to commit murder while showing no mercy to the individuals on the ground. In this case I believe that the whistleblower who leaked the footage was following a valid morally aligned path, however the way she leaked the information could have been executed in better fashion. I believe that this kind of behavior is very unsettling and dangerous for the participants in the operation and could potentially cause scrutiny in how the military is portrayed in media hence the reason Manning leaked the information. In this Case Analysis I will argue that Confucianism shows us that Manning did act out of loyalty to the United States and that her actions were a moral case of whistleblowing.   

In Vandekerckhove’s “Whistle Blowing and Rational Loyalty” he touches on a concept that discuess the idea of loyalty. Vandekerckhove describes loyalty in his article as “unfailing fulfillment of one’s duties and obligations, but also a strict adherence to vows or promises” (Vandekerckhove 228). This means that if one is to partake in a company’s business, they must have the upmost loyalty to this exact definition that he discusses. By doing so, you will adhere to all standards and instances where you are required to perform a certain duty or action. Vandekerckhove claims that this concept of a “profound fidelity” and loyalty go hand in hand with the organizational business effectiveness because it preserves commons. He claims that the loyalty that is projected from one’s own individual will also provide a sense of responsibility in protecting what they believe the organization’s intentions are. As a result, if the company’s integrity is compromised through instances of contradicting rhetoric within the organization, then it is that individual’s responsibility who is loyal to the company to preform whistle blowing activities to maintain their vows and promises to the organization.  

Using the concept that Vandekerckhove discusses in his work, you can infer that Manning was simply acting out of loyalty to protect the integrity of what she believed the military stood for at the time. When Manning swore into the military, she recited the Oath of Enlistment and within its details it states that she will bear true faith and allegiance to the same meaning that she devotes herself to the military unconditionally while adhering to positive moral standards. She is expressing her loyalty to this oath and when she leaked the video, she only meant to counteract the immoral behavior of those who participated in the murdering of the individuals on the ground that day. She believed that if this type of behavior and rhetoric continued in operations then it would have long lasting negative effects on military operations and morale within the organization. Manning’s actions were a true testament to what Vandekerckhove claims someone must do to maintain business effectiveness. Simultaneously, while doing so Manning exemplified an unfailing fulfillment to her duties and obligations as a US soldier by preforming the decisions asked of her but, understanding that she has a strict adherence to the vows or promises that she made when she joined the military. While remembering her promise she made she believed that leaking the information was the best plan of action to achieve that result of protecting what the military stood for respectively. It is due to her unwavering will and confidence in her obligation as a US soldier that she decided to make this decision that would affect the future drastically.  

Manning’s actions effectively captured what it means to be a Confucian theorist during her whistle blowing process by being flexible, thoughtful and responsive to the families of the victims of the murders and her oath as a US soldier. Manning decided that to maintain the correct Dao that the military was established to follow then she must reveal what occurred on the day of the murders to counteract the negative actions and behavior taken by her colleagues. Another part of why Manning followed Confucian theroism is because she understood that acting within your role does not simply mean doing what you are told. Her colleagues in the video are seen to engage in behavior that follows the idea of doing what I am told to protect my innocence by requesting permission to fire or waiting for an injured individual to pick up a weapon giving them a reason to execute them. Manning in hindsight of the event, realized that in that moment she should have had a discussion with her superiors about whether the orders that she was receiving were morally just in nature. By doing so she could have effectively acted within her role as a US soldier by reflecting on her orders while simultaneously helping others act within their roles as commanders by having a discussion with them about the orders. Manning understood her decision that she made regarding blowing the whistle on the operation that day included what relationships were related to her and their roles respectively in the operation and would thus lead her to a morally correct result to put the military back on the correct Dao.   

In Julian Oxley and D.E. Wittkower’s “Care and Loyalty in the Workplace” the two authors trade perspectives on what standard loyalty should be held to in business relationships. At one point in the document, the two authors share a perspective on loyalty stating, “Loyalty should be thus interpreted as a kind a partiality to those one cares for, justified on the basis that one cares for the other mutually” (Oxley and Wittkower 224). The two authors are essentially saying that in a relationship between two individuals, loyalty to one another is shared mutually because both parties care for one another. Both parties act out of their own will to maintain this loyalty by understanding the values that each person shares in the relationship. By achieving mutual loyalty to one another the two individuals can work together to achieve a common goal. However, when the two individuals’ loyalty towards one another is compromised, it causes strain on the relationship. If loyalty is lost between the two parties, then the other common goal can never be achieved as a result. The loyalty between the two parties not being present in the relationship can lead to one party not believing that they are obligated to participate in their role and endanger business operations. This can lead to instances such as whistleblowing, sabotage, or even espionage.  

Relating Oxley and Wittkower’s concept to Manning’s case, Manning enlisted because she believed that the military and her shared the same virtues and values thus creating a bond between the two parties. The vision that was shared between the two parties also goes hand in hand with the loyalty that was built over the years of Manning’s enlistment time in the military. The military provided her basic living necessities and base pay while she provided the military with her services as a US army soldier who followed orders and did not ask questions. This would effectively establish the loyalty between the two parties which would eventually be diminished by the events that took place on July 12, 2007. Backtracking to Oxley and Wittkower’s concept, the two parties’ loyalty is justified on the basis that both parties care for each other mutually. When Manning realized that the actions of her colleagues were immorally unjust, she lost the loyalty that was established in the past. The incursion that happened in Baghdad would cause her to defect completely to an organization meant to harm the image of the military by exposing the negative side of operations that take place on a normal basis. The mutual loyalty was lost and the common goal that both parties shared could not be achieved anymore because Manning believed that her role in the military was no longer important. She took on a new role for a different organization and the role was meant to expose the military to the negative actions that its members took. If her loyalty to the military was never lost, I believe that she would have never leaked the information that she leaked in the first place.  

In this instance Manning took on the role of a whistle blowing agent who was following Confucian logic because she understood she had to fully understand the situation regarding the repercussions of the rhetoric and behavior displayed by her peers and how who was involved with it could potentially hurt the military. The loyalty that was shared between Manning and the military can be seen from a Confucian perspective as the roles of two parties that are dependent on each other such as a parent and a child. Manning understood that within her Confucian role she was to respect her chain of command, however that does not mean to just follow their orders and do what they say. Manning then took the opportunity to expose her chain of command and explain to them how they were wrong by whistle blowing and revealing the atrocities committed by her peers. Manning understood that to stay on her correct Dao in her life she had to properly fulfill her role as a US soldier and expose her chain of command. This was possible because of Confucian logic that teaches us to be flexible, thoughtful, and responsive to others and to our shared circumstances to figure out what the right way to act may be at different times. Manning’s loyalty to the military was severed thus diminishing her role in the military and as a result she used Confucian based logic to make a series of decisions to maintain her correct Dao.  

Speaking from someone who is also enlisted in the military, I understand what Manning went through during her decision to blow the whistle. Not to the extent that she did but, blowing the whistle on lower-level instances such as improper treatment of employees of poor working conditions. I can logically see where she is coming from, however, the way she went about blowing the whistle was completely wrong. The act of her leaking the video to WikiLeaks of all people is absurd and she should have known better than to do something as erroneous as that. They have programs in the military already to investigate the type of cases that she was dealing with. The actual act itself, however, is very courageous and I believe that it does follow a Confucian based logic scheme. In the end Manning was honestly just trying to achieve the right end goal or in a Confucian perspective maintain the correct Dao by leaking the information because she felt that the rhetoric that was in the video was damaging enough to where prolonged usage of the behavior would lead to differently military than the one that she enlisted to join. The military she signed up to join did not believe in this type of behavior and I can confidently attest to that notion as well. The people who are in the career field may require them to be more abrasive and sterner in the jobs due to the nature of their job but to lose your humanity like the individuals in the video is a whole different thought.  Manning saw this and acted according to the Confucian teachings and as result an investigation was opened on the individuals in question. Manning effectively made choices that included concepts from the Confucian teachings allowing her to fulfill her role as a US army Soldier and guide herself and the US military to the correct Dao.