The Warrior Mindset - Stand for America?
Gregg Zegarelli Esq.
Managing Shareholder at Technology & Entrepreneurial Ventures Law Group, PC
"You can't handle the truth" was famously exclaimed by Colonel Jessep in A Few Good Men, making the point that the warrior is charged with the objective to protect, but then those who enjoy that protection—the beneficiaries, incidental or intended—challenge the method and means by which that objective is achieved.
Warriors are everywhere, and warriors exist in many contexts. It's not just about Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman burning through Georgia in the March to the Sea to end slavery in America.
Many contexts command a warrior mindset framework. It may be that life and limb are the last full measure of the warrior, but the warrior's mindset framework occurs likewise, for example, in sports, business, law and politics. Where there is adversity, there are, by any name of reference, "warriors."
We recall one of our great heroes, 4-Star U.S. Gen. George S. Patton. Vainglorious with his ivory-handled revolvers, deeply loving in one way, brutal in another way, but a pure warrior. He loved his friends and wanted to destroy his enemies. As a warrior, he saw the world in a framework of objectives, supported by friends and contradicted by enemies. "Lead, follow, or get out of the way," as was repeated in the business context by Lee Iaccoca. A person either supports the objective, or the person will get out of the way—one way or another.
It is surprising that many people don't know or don't remember a famous true story about Gen. Patton—it was worldwide news at the time. Yes, I am referencing the famous Patton "slapping" incidents.
Briefly stated, General Patton entered a WWII infirmary filled with physically maimed and bloody soldiers. Patton revered these friends, all heroes, whom he believed were injured supporting the objective. But, then, there was a soldier who had "battle fatigue" (such as it was understood at the time) which infuriated Patton, because Patton believed that this soldier was not only failing to support the cause, but worse, was contradicting the objective by infecting the greater body of infantry. To Patton, in simple terms, this latter soldier was an enemy. In an outburst, he called the soldier a "coward," slapping him, and evicting him from the infirmary—getting him out of the way. (This was famously depicted by Academy Award winning George C. Scott in Patton here.)
It was an extreme act, and certainly socially divisive. Some people agreed with Patton, some people did not. Although it is said that most of wartime America agreed with Gen. Patton, Commanding General Eisenhower (who had a better view of the field) did not and made Patton apologize to the troops. It is reported that some soldiers in the audience, when they perceived an apology was coming, yelled, "Don't do it, General."
The pure warrior is charged with an objective, and there are those things that support the action to succeed in the objective, and things that contradict success to the objective. Col. Jessep said, "it's that simple." The priests of Old England, not being warriors for the context, fondly hoped and fervently prayed for peace, but were slaughtered and enslaved by the conquering Vikings.
"Warriors"—by any name—are necessary to conquer the adversity presented for the context.
Gen. Patton was a pure warrior, and pure warriors can be tough to control. It is their conditioning. Warriors tend to understand warriors, coddlers tend to understand coddlers. Therefore, it is not unusual for certain persons who are warriors to denote respect for other warriors, and to disdain those who cannot or will not take on a fight. Tigers and sheep simply don't see eye to eye, for long. This is not to say one is better, but perhaps only that both are necessary.
Now, in the context of the warrior, we have the somewhat oxymoronic, if not pesky for some, issue of the rules of war. That is, where cultural context rejects no holds barred and draws lines around permissible conduct of war. Rules of war work to the extent that warring factions agree on the terms and comply with the terms. Although, we understand that violations are adjudicated by the victor, as we saw in the Nuremberg Trials. Hermann Goering simply had a difficult time understanding what he did wrong, claiming a type of hypocrisy, since the United States (again the victor) committed atrocities against the Native American Indians to accomplish its own cultural goals.
With or without rules of war, there is also a type of personal constraint in honor, which is an implementation of virtue and form of restraint, or temperance. But, honor is a dangerous game to play for a pure warrior, because the personal constraint can be a tactical weakness, when honor is, well, not honored by the adverse party.
There is a fabulous scene in The Game of Thrones, Ep. 1.6, that makes the point. Two knights fought, each one fighting for his perceived justice. The winning knight cheated (maybe) and threw the losing knight over the cliff, to which the Lady of the House scolded, "You fight without honor" to which the winning knight quipped, "No, but he did" pointing to the losing knight he just threw off of the cliff.
On another front, it is also surprising how many people don't know or recall the true story of 5-Star U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who said it plainly, "There is no substitute for victory." The great hero, Gen. MacArthur, refused to concede for China, writing unauthorized communiques against his commanding officer's consent, being then President Truman. Yes, MacArthur was vainglorious too, with his trademark corn cob pipe, but a pure warrior. And MacArthur, like Patton, was also tough to contain, so much so that President Truman relieved MacArthur of his command.
Warriors can be tough to contain, because the world of a warrior is defined in winning victory, for which there is no substitute. Warriors are wired for victory.
Shakespeare said, "For there was never yet philosopher that could endure the toothache patiently" as an exposition of hypocrisy between an ideal and practicalities. Some people may hope for the ideal, but it is the warrior who keeps people alive so that they can hope.
When we evaluate a man like Donald Trump, we have to remember how a warrior thinks. This is why Donald Trump uses the term "loser" so often. His world is one of winning versus losing, friend and enemies, because he is a pure warrior. He will permit anyone to be irrelevant, unless the person is in the game.
When Donald Trump is running a beauty contest and calls a beauty contestant "fat" it gets very close to Patton slapping a soldier, with each bite of cake a self-inflicted visit to the infirmary. It infuriates Trump, like Patton, demonstrating intemperance for someone on the team who is not all-in the game to win a victory. Tweeting at night, so did MacArthur in his own way and time. It's really nothing new. It is a mindset. And, Donald Trump respecting Putin is understandable, because warriors tend to understand warriors. To respect your opponent in one regard or another is to play a game worth winning.
Trump is a warrior, perhaps more accurately stated as one type of warrior. But, he is pure for his type and not unusually difficult to understand. If he is well-placed and permitted to perform his role, he will accomplish the objectives he intends. He may not be liked for his vainglory, with or without ivory revolvers or a corn cob pipe, but, in true great warrior fashion, he will step up to task—because that is what great warriors do.
But, here's the real issue. Yes, Patton and MacArthur were heroes and two of American history's greatest generals, accomplishing invaluable benefits for America. They made history and they made the World a better place, but...
But, both of these great generals lost their commands, because these great warriors continued to fight with the leash.
"Lorum lorum dominum non protegit si canis circum volvitur." ("The leash does not protect the master, if the dog should turn around.")
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Gird up your loins now, like a man; I will question you, and you tell me the answers! ...
Do you give the horse his strength, and endow his neck with splendor?
Do you make the steed to quiver while his thunderous snorting spreads terror?
He jubilantly paws the plain and rushes in his might against the weapons.
He laughs at fear and cannot be deterred; he turns not back from the sword.
Around him rattles the quiver, flashes the spear and the javelin.
Frenzied and trembling, he devours the ground; he holds not back at the sound of the trumpet, but, at each blast, he cries, Aha!
Book of Job 38:3
"Lorum lorum dominum non protegit si canis circum volvitur." ("The leash does not protect the master, if the dog should turn around.") ~ grz
* Gregg Zegarelli, Esq., earned both his Bachelor of Arts Degree and his Juris Doctorate from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His dual major areas of study were History from the College of Liberal Arts and Accounting from the Business School (qualified to sit for the CPA examination), with dual minors in Philosophy and Political Science. He has enjoyed Adjunct Professorships in the Duquesne University Graduate Leadership Master Degree Program (The Leader as Entrepreneur; Developing Leadership Character Through Adversity) and the University of Pittsburgh Law School (The Anatomy of a Deal). He is admitted to various courts throughout the United States of America.
Gregg Zegarelli, Esq.,?is Managing Shareholder of Technology & Entrepreneurial Ventures Law Group, PC.?Gregg is nationally rated as "superb" and has more than 35 years of experience working with entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes, including startups,?INC. 500, and publicly traded companies.?He is author of One: The Unified Gospel of Jesus, and The Business of Aesop? article series, and co-author with his father, Arnold Zegarelli, of The Essential Aesop: For Business, Managers, Writers and Professional Speakers. Gregg is a frequent lecturer, speaker and faculty for a variety of educational and other institutions.
? 2018 Gregg Zegarelli, Esq.?Gregg can be contacted through?LinkedIn.
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Stand for America? is a series of publications intersecting philosophy and traditional American values.
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