So here is the review of Jundism. I feel it is important to put this out there from time to time, because it is very easy to forget about it as it sits in it’s own little corner of the website. Here is what I have come up with over the last couple of months and let me know if I am missing anything. Of course these are concepts that all came from the various posts and discussions that happened on this website. Most of these are not my ideas, but collecting them all under the banner of a belief system is my idea. If the mind is the best weapon out there, then these are the concepts that will help to build that weapon and make it truly formidable.
I guess some of you are wondering what the hell is Jundism? Good question, and I think in the spirit of Jundism, I was going to put it out there to the readers and ask ‘what is your recommendation’ as to what Jundism means? lol I am serious though, because my version of of what Jundism is could totally be different than your version, and this is me trying to get some ‘shared reality’.
As to etymology of the word, the first part of ‘Jundism’ would be Jundi, which means ‘soldier’ in Arabic. I felt it to be most appropriate because that is one of the root words of my blog title. That, and many of us contractors and military men and women have cut our teeth in the wars overseas in the middle east.
The second part of Jundism would be the ‘ism’ part, which really opens up the possible meanings of Jundism. So that is where it gets interesting. Although, there is a part of me that really doesn’t want it defined, and part of Jundism’s power is that it is somewhat flexible in meaning. I think Boyd would have gotten a kick out of that. Or maybe I am wrong on that, who knows….
My big concern is that I do not want a rigid system of beliefs. I want something that grows and evolves. Doctrine or dogma is not what I want Jundism to turn into, I want it to be a system that an individual or group can apply, that will grow with them over time. I also want all the concepts to work well with one another, but also do equally well on their own.
The hope here is that one day, a soldier or contractor will do something uniquely Jundi-istic out there, and someone will ask ‘where did you learn how to be like that or do that’? And that guy or gal will smile and say, ‘Jundism’.
And one last thing. I also think Jundism is necessary, because the global nature of soldiering or contracting is so difficult to control or monitor. That, and I think this war will last awhile, and lethal minds are what we need in order to finish this thing. My goal is to throw the concepts out there like a virus and hope that it spreads.
I also believe that in order to change the culture of contractors and the military into a more efficient and lethal force, that we cannot solely depend upon the corporation or government to instill the correct philosophies. It is up to each and everyone one of us as to what kind of follower or leader you want to be, and Jundism, I believe, is the key to success. –Matt
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Jundism pronounced like ‘Jundee-ism’.
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-ism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The suffix -ism denotes a distinctive system of beliefs, myth, doctrine or theory that guides a social movement, institution, class or group. For example, baptize (literally derived from “to dip”) becomes “baptism,” a distinctive system of cleansing in water to testify to the forgiveness of sins[1]. It is taken from the Greek suffix -ismos, Latin -ismus, and Old French -isme, that forms nouns from verbal stems. Greek baptismos “immersion”, for example, is derived from baptizein, a Greek verb meaning “to immerse”. Its usage has since been extended to signify the ideology or philosophy surrounding the element to which the suffix is added.
Concepts represented by “ism”
The -ism suffix can be used to express the following concepts:
* religion or belief system (e.g. Buddhism, Mormonism, Protestantism)
* doctrine or philosophy (e.g. pacifism, olympism, nihilism)
* theory developed by an individual (e.g. Marxism, Maoism, see also List of ideologies named after people)
* political movement (e.g. feminism, egalitarianism)
* artistic movement (e.g. cubism)
* action, process or practice (e.g. voyeurism)
* characteristic, quality or origin (e.g. heroism)
* state or condition (e.g. pauperism)
* excess or disease (e.g. botulism)
* prejudice or bias (e.g. racism, sexism)
* characteristic speech patterns (e.g. Yogiism, Bushism)
Many isms are defined as an act or practice by some, while also being defined as the doctrine or philosophy behind the act or practice by others. Examples include activism, ageism, altruism, despotism, elitism, optimism, racism, sexism, terrorism, truantism and weightism.