Old Blood & Guts! Gen. Patton’s Battle Lessons for Citizen Activists
The apostle Paul, who frequently used military and athletic metaphors, insisted: “We must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us.”
With liberty under attack at every turn, we have ample opportunity to allow the refining effect of battle to strengthen us. We can use struggle to bring out the best in us and remove all that is corrupt (base).
Situational Awareness. The importance of situational awareness was drilled into us when I served as part of a “scope dopes” group on-board the AWACS system. Author N. Moray describes SA as, “keeping track of what is going on around you in a complex, dynamic environment.” Tunnel vision can have serious consequences when you’re responsible for identifying a mass of radar data traveling at various speeds, altitudes, and directions.
Situational awareness has application beyond military practice. We can create an information niche for ourselves from the multitude of sources available to us today. These outlets provide us with tremendous advantages but a downside can be the tendency to create a bubble around us.
It might feel good to give a thumbs-up to a constant stream of like-minded status updates but we need to intentionally step out of our echo chambers. This can assist us in not only maintaining well-rounded perspectives but also help us to empathize with those who see things differently than we do.
Lessons Learned. It’s been said that no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. After every mission, our crew would meet up to debrief, which included a time to share “lessons learned,” both good and bad. These were recorded so other crews could learn for the future.
Unexpected events occur and sometimes we just mess up. We need to learn from our mistakes and share our experiences with others so we can all improve. One of the greatest failures of the American people today is a failure to learn the lessons of history and so we repeat mistakes, misadventures, and defeats of the past.
Contrary to Patton’s observation, many American Christians and conservatives do not love to fight. However, battles have been thrust upon us whether we have chosen them or not. We will not be left alone to live our lives as we see fit according to conscience, contrary to the wishful thinking of some. May we listen to the Pattons of our day so that we might be energized and fortified for the battles we face.
Jeff Wright, Jr. is a grateful husband, blessed daddy, and long-suffering Redskins fan. He is a Prison Chaplain in the “city of lost souls,” holds a ThM from Dallas Seminary, and is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society. Jeff is a civil liberties activist on behalf of the “sacred order of freemen” and minister of the “fellowship of twice-born sinners.”
