Meaning and dogma
Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at 9:42AM Looking at a small Turkish navy vessel anchored out in the bay I find myself wondering how they keep themselves motivated. Small boat, baking heat, no one to fight.
During this holiday I met a British serviceman who had served in Afghanistan and Iraq and was now working in the British embassy in Ankara. We chatted about the British army, it's culture and traditions.
I wondered what culture and traditions held the Turkish navy together and how they maintained them.
Following on from my previous post about dogma, and the earlier one about our need for meaning, this made me wonder about how much tradition, how much structure, how much shared culture is needed to stop things falling apart - and how much tips you into dogma.
Maybe, as with so many things, it is a question of intent - and how shared that intent is?
Reader Comments (1)
Just finished reading From the Ruins of Empire: The Revolt Against the West and the Remaking of Asia which highlights the changing circumstances of empires and nations in the last century.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/From-Ruins-Empire-Against-Remaking/dp/1846144787
If you are getting into all things military you might find this months Monocle magazine of interest.
http://www.monocle.com/Magazine/volume-06/issue-56/