Introduction

The video “Collateral Murder” examines a situation that occurred with the influence of the United States military. This situation occurred in the year 2007 when the United States military responded to an incident involving reported gunfire within the city of Bagdad. The United States military sent Apache helicopters to assess the current situation and resolve any perpetrators on the scene. Within one of these Apache helicopters, one of the gunners gained a suspension that some Bagdad men had possession of guns, more specifically AK-47s. This raised tensions because one of the Bagdad men was holding this suspected weapon towards the United States soldiers. Shortly after, the situation became violent and resulted in the United States soldiers gaining the right to open fire on the men. With the United States soldiers being granted permission to open fire on the men it resulted in injury as well as death. This case analysis along with the contractarian tool will argue that Manning did act out of loyalty to the United States and that the actions she took were a moral case of whistleblowing. 

Whistleblowing and Rational Loyalty

While the contractarian tool will provide a better examination of Manning’s actions and loyalty the use of two different articles will also help show a better examination. The first article is titled “Whistleblowing and Rational Loyalty, by Wim Vandekerckhove. Vandekerckhove expresses the central concepts of loyalty and whistleblowing towards a company. Vandekerckhove’s main concept that is examined is how the concept of loyalty is measured and to what length this loyalty reaches between the employees and the employers. By looking at the concept of loyalty throughout a company Vandekerckhove can see what type of loyalty is formed and how much loyalty is expected from an employee. The other concept that Vandekerckhove expresses is the idea of whistleblowing. He states that the idea of whistleblowing is a prompt way for an employee to keep or strengthen the concept of loyalty toward a company. He backs the idea that whistleblowing and staying loyal are similar, rather than the common view of whistleblowing being a form of betrayal. 

The theory of contractarianism is based on the idea that justifies a moral principle or political choice by engaging with a so-called social contract. With the theory of contractarianism in mind the so-called social contact that is formed can be shown within Vandekerckhove’s article. This social contract is formed within his article from his concepts of loyalty and whistleblowing. Vandekerckhove explains that an employee wants to see the company they work for strive toward success in ways that are moral and right. So, this social contact or mutual agreement is formed between the employee and the company through the concept of loyalty. With this social contact being established it allows the employee to act in ways that will benefit the company and bring it success. Within the concept of loyalty, the concept of whistleblowing is another key factor in which the employee can stay loyal to the company. With a company’s success being the primary goal of the employees, the use of whistleblowing allows the employee to report any wrongdoings or issues that may be affecting this success. By enacting the process of whistleblowing employees can maintain the concept of loyalty, which undoubtedly allows the company’s success to stay on a prosperous route. With the social contract being formed within Vandekerckhove’s concept of loyalty it can also be seen through the extent of this loyalty. This social contract between the employee and the company must be mutual and be rid of compliance with actions that are wrong or immoral. This means that the employee must be able to balance an equal level of loyalty towards the company, as well as enact the process of whistleblowing to report any wrongs that were committed. Both the company and the employees must act in ways that are ethically correct to abide by the social contract that is formed. By acting in ethically correct ways it allows the employees to strengthen their loyalty towards the social contract as well as the company itself. In case the employees are to disregard wrongs that occur within the company this would be seen as a breach of the social contract. This means that the employees are not staying true to the concept of loyalty, which could lead to the company’s loss of reputation as well as economic success. 

Care and Loyalty in the Workplace

Vandekerckhove’s article provided a great examination of the concept of loyalty and how the enacting of whistleblowing by an employee is seen as a form of loyalty. The following article was written by Julianna Oxley and D.E. Wittkower, and which titled “Care and Loyalty in the Workplace.” Oxley and Wittkower examine the concepts that are attached to the ideas of what it means to be loyal to a company and how this loyalty is determined. This article also sheds light on the concept of how whistleblowing is seen as a form of loyalty or a form of betrayal. Oxley and Wittkower state that this loyalty should not be expected or demanded rather it be formed between employee and company. This means that the employees should engage and form a relationship with other employees and the company’s goals and values. By creating these relationships throughout the organization, it will allow for a sense of loyalty to be formed throughout the company. While this loyalty can be determined through the relationships that are formed between each person, it can also be shown through the aligned values that form within each employee. Oxley’s and Wittkower’s concept of whistleblowing expresses that this process is an indication of care and loyalty towards fellow employees and the company. This allows for an employee to protect fellow employees or bring attention to wrongdoings by the company. 

Similarly, Oxley’s and Wittkower’s articles can be connected to a contractarian mindset like Vandekerkchove’s article. Contractarianism is connected to a so-called contract, it is formed within the relationships that are formed between employees, co-workers, and the company. With these relationships being formed between one another the concept of loyalty can flourish through this social contract. This social contract as well as the loyalty that is established allows the employees to strengthen the relationships they build with other co-workers within the company. With loyalty being a strong factor within the social contract the instance of whistleblowing can be justified. Whistleblowing can be justified within this social contract due to the fact that this process is a demonstration of loyalty, in which an employee is protecting another co-worker or bringing attention to an issue within the company. Employees within the social contract also gain a better understanding of moral respect. This moral respect is established since the employee is willing to abide by the social contract and enact the process of whistleblowing. The enactment of whistleblowing shows that the employee who carried out this process cares about the well-being of their coworkers and the overall integrity of the company. Without the proper connection to this social contract between the employees and the company, the instances of loyalty and whistleblowing could be affected. With the absence of loyalty, the employees are unable to establish relationships of trust between one another. This inability to establish trust with one another could lead to the employee having disloyalty towards the company. This disloyalty could result in the employees turning a blind eye to the company’s wrongdoings. Contractarianism’s social contract is a vital tool that employees and the company must uphold to create opportunities for the concepts of loyalty and whistleblowing to be established.

Conclusion The use of the contractarian tool, Vandekerkchove’s article, and Oxley’s article allowed for a better understanding of how Manning’s actions showed loyalty to the United States, and that her instance of whistleblowing was morally right. In Manning’s case, she felt that the United States military was breaking the trust or loyalty of the so-called social contract. The wrongdoings by the United States military resulted in the injury and death of men in Bagdad. Manning’s enacting of whistleblowing was moral due to the fact that she felt the United States military was breaching the social contract. Manning understood that her enactment of whistleblowing would come with consequences, but with her being an employee of the US military she is upholding the concept of loyalty by whistleblowing. With Manning enacting the process of whistleblowing she was able to report the wrongdoings of the United States military while being able to uphold the concept of loyalty. Without Manning’s enactment of whistleblowing, it could have resulted in Manning turning a blind eye toward immoral actions which is seen as a breach of the social contract within the theory of contractarianism.