During point one, 'Be a player, not a spectator,' I reflected on Robert De Niro's character, Sam, in the movie Ronin. To quote, "You're either part of the solution, or part of the problem, or part of the scenery." I have always loved this line, and related it to my own working philosophy. The majority of people make up the scenery; they sit idly and wait for someone else to come along and solve their problems and make their lives better. For them, the drudgery of their lives is always someone else's fault, and it doesn't matter what is going on, they are in full complaint, pointing the finger as though they might know a better way. Solution people are not necessarily the go-getters, they may also be found in the shadows of someone else's glory, pointing the way and guiding the path. They are the rare, proactive people who internalize change and problem solving; they look for solutions to difficult problems that generally do not present a conventional solution. And the bane of my existence are the problem people, those - too many - that serve as obstacles to progress. They are the spotlights, that generally steal undeserved praise for solutions they not only failed to support, but often tried to prevent. The one character flaw I have identified with this group is a fixation on past ways of doing things. They possess little, if any, initiative or insight, and are terrified by those that do for the inadequacy they feel in their presence. (I could throw a few names out there, but currently, that might be a little foolish; maybe in a later edit.)
What most impacted me in this single bullet was Mr. Blair's statement, "They are indicative of an attitude, of responsibility to others, an acceptance that international politics should not be simply a game of interests, but also of beliefs, things we stand for and fight for." This is such a powerful statement because all I could ponder was my personal reasons for service in the Army.
In my youth, all I wanted was to HALO (parachute) into a foreign country, kick someone's door down, and shoot them in the face. Honor was death on the battlefield, and I childishly relished the idea of this sacrifice, for myself. Family was only the fellowship of the squad and platoon.
I have since crossed the precipice of maturity and manhood. I take responsibility for my actions, and my vision for the remainder of my life had evolved to bringing about a change, for the better, of Iraq, and the world in general. Was my previous goal naive? Was it childish? Yes, but I could not have developed my current views without it. I needed combat. I needed personal pains. I needed to suffer the grievous loss of my men, and I needed to crawl into that truck. I needed to know men like Doc Willer and LT Carlisle, and to make the acquaintance of Mark Urban and Mark McCauley. I needed to laugh with them and cry with them. All of these events contributed to my developed and heightened sense of perspective. Everyone thinks they understand, or that they can understand, but they can't. Just as I can't understand their perspectives. Our experiences are different.
So, in this heightened sense of perspective, I realize that Mr. Blair is absolutely correct. Politics - and life - are not simply a game of interests. And in realizing this, I realize that my service - to the Army now and to the World, later - is not about my Country, but about the beliefs that my country holds most dear. Those beliefs that she has sacrificed young men for time and again. Life. Liberty. Pursuit of Happiness. I internalized those beliefs and I hold them so sacred, that I would sacrifice myself for them, time and again.
"The ultimate sacrifice for the ultimate value," Robert Heinlein.
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