Saturday, April 28, 2012

Embracing A Soldier's Ambition



U.S. Army Should Embrace, Not Repress, Soldiers’ Ambition -- Bloomberg

In his landmark 19th-century treatise “On War,” Carl von Clausewitz asked “whether history has ever known a great general who was not ambitious; whether, indeed, such a figure is conceivable.”

Clausewitz knew that ambition had gotten a bum rap: “Other emotions,” he explained, “may be more common and more venerated -- patriotism, idealism, vengeance, enthusiasm of every kind --but they are no substitute for a thirst for fame and honor.”

Read more ....

My Comment: I agree .... the U.S. Army should embrace (not suppress) a soldier's ambition. But in today's culture .... this is not vogue .... especially when the Commander in Chief himself talks about "the poverty of ambition" (see above video).

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