[June 12, 2021] Many say that the study of ancient texts is generally worthless. Why learn something from long ago when there exists a technically, socially, and economically disparity? My argument is simple, we can learn from the ancients. One text is from the Bible and is also a misunderstood phrase, turn the other cheek. “But I say… Read More »
[June 7, 2021] A good friend of mine – a retired USAF officer – has supplied me with several books over the past few months. He certainly has a way of picking some darn good ones. An inspiring book on Gen. Curtis LeMay, “Strategies and Tactician,” is one I appreciated, for it showed that anyone could achieve the… Read More »
[May 29, 2021] Can a century’s old brutal leadership provide us with critical lessons today? In an award-winning movie, The Patriot starring Mel Gibson, the story is told of events in the Revolutionary War. British Colonel Banastre Tarleton provided surprising successful battlefield leadership but also failed ultimately in his leadership role. As told in the movie, the story… Read More »
[May 28, 2021] In 1969, Johnny Cash’s song, “A Boy Named Sue,’ hit Number 1 on the country charts. The song is about a young man’s quest for revenge on his father, who abandoned him and whose only contribution was to give him the feminine name Sue. We teach our boys to be strong, independent, and honest. How… Read More »
[May 25, 2021] Sitting in a walnut case, above my desk where I write every day, is my Army officer’s sword.1 Like so many who earned the right to own one, I would never dream of selling or giving it up. As we have seen so often, military traditions are strong with symbolism and emotions. One of those… Read More »
[May 16, 2021] There is no philosophy, political system, or weapon so formidable as the moral courage of free men and women. Moral courage is a deterrent to despots and tyrants of all stripes. That is why I was heartened by the moral courage that Canadian Pastor Artur Pawlowski showed for having an “unauthorized church service” in Canada.1… Read More »
[May 3, 2021] It is said that hard times create hard men. World War II was a war that characterized hard times, and out of that trauma came Curtis LeMay, a hard man; the youngest and longest-serving general in modern American history. He rose from obscurity, lacking social graces, old-boy connections, or lineage to become America’s most innovative… Read More »
[April 27, 2021] “To the shores of Tripoli …” I’ve sung the words to the Marines’ Hymn more times than I can remember. I know much of their history, as I learned their past for the heroic battles fought. The era of the Barbary Pirates was on my list of readings for a long time because that is… Read More »
[April 25, 2021] War is a common condition of humans. In truth, it can be convincingly argued that the history of our human condition is perpetual war. Peace is an aberration. I want to address a comment I hear often … “Given that war is so common, is there glory in war?” To begin, I want to be… Read More »
[April 22, 2021] Like so many Americans, I learned about the righteousness of the Allied fight against Hitler’s and Mussolini’s fascism and Japan’s imperialism during World War II. Yet, there was plenty of unfinished business of the war that would plague the world for decades – a new book by Sean McMeekin challenge’s that view. In his book,… Read More »