Probably no one in twentieth-century history was more feckless than Neville Chamberlain.
Is there a twenty-first century Neville, someone as feckless as Chamberlain was when he dealt with Hitler?
With a sheet of paper in his hand, but no threat of military retaliation in his heart, Neville paved the way for Hitler to invade neighboring countries. Again, I ask, is there a twenty-first century analog, a present-day doppelgänger? Is there a modern capitulator?
Neville Chamberlain thought he could avoid war through reasonable negotiations. He was, as history notes, wrong. Bullies, would-be conquerers, and warmongers do not acquiesce to talk or empty threats.
Just about the only time that reason or pleading prevented an invasion was in the fifth century, when Pope Leo I went to the camp of Attila. Attila acquiesced to the plea of the Pope, and withdrew from Italy. But that plea was made in the context of Attila’s recent losses at Châlons and an ongoing famine that affected his supply lines. As the story goes, also, Attila saw a vision of a priest holding a sword in the sky behind the pleading Pope, an omen in the shape of St. Peter about to wreak havoc on the Huns.
Here’s what I know about bullies and would-be conquerers. They don’t often respond like Attila. They do respond to tangible actions. Think of Muammar Gaddafi, who, after seeing America’s actions against the threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, turned over his fledgling nuclear materials because he believed he, too, would be subject to military action as he was in 1986.
There is no leadership training that turns a feckless person into a leader of substance. A great leader can come from any walk of life. Reagan, who ordered the bombing of Libya in retaliation for acts of terror, was an actor. Ukraine’s indomitable leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a comedian.
Strange how some in America’s “ruling class” pretend to be leaders and who receive the accolades of the “elite” only to prove themselves to be feckless when they are confronted with bullies. I fear America is being led by Nevilles.
Is there a twenty-first century Neville, someone as feckless as Chamberlain was when he dealt with Hitler?
With a sheet of paper in his hand, but no threat of military retaliation in his heart, Neville paved the way for Hitler to invade neighboring countries. Again, I ask, is there a twenty-first century analog, a present-day doppelgänger? Is there a modern capitulator?
Neville Chamberlain thought he could avoid war through reasonable negotiations. He was, as history notes, wrong. Bullies, would-be conquerers, and warmongers do not acquiesce to talk or empty threats.
Just about the only time that reason or pleading prevented an invasion was in the fifth century, when Pope Leo I went to the camp of Attila. Attila acquiesced to the plea of the Pope, and withdrew from Italy. But that plea was made in the context of Attila’s recent losses at Châlons and an ongoing famine that affected his supply lines. As the story goes, also, Attila saw a vision of a priest holding a sword in the sky behind the pleading Pope, an omen in the shape of St. Peter about to wreak havoc on the Huns.
Here’s what I know about bullies and would-be conquerers. They don’t often respond like Attila. They do respond to tangible actions. Think of Muammar Gaddafi, who, after seeing America’s actions against the threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, turned over his fledgling nuclear materials because he believed he, too, would be subject to military action as he was in 1986.
There is no leadership training that turns a feckless person into a leader of substance. A great leader can come from any walk of life. Reagan, who ordered the bombing of Libya in retaliation for acts of terror, was an actor. Ukraine’s indomitable leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a comedian.
Strange how some in America’s “ruling class” pretend to be leaders and who receive the accolades of the “elite” only to prove themselves to be feckless when they are confronted with bullies. I fear America is being led by Nevilles.
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