Romney for Wimp In Chief: Real Men

At times like this, when it appears the scoundrels will win, and the nation is going to the dogs, I find history a healing salve. Reading Joshua Chamberlain's account of the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox is just the thing. It reminds me what real adversity means, what real men are like, and what real crisis entails.

General Joshua Chamberlain (pictured in the top photo) was given the task of accepting the surrender of Southerners, and he had his troops line up along the road as the various units of the Southern army marched by, stacked their arms and disbanded.  He knew every unit, could remember where they were at Antietam, Gettysburg, Petersburg, and who their commanders were. 

And he mentions that once the arms were stacked the regimental colors, the flags which had been carried ahead of the men into battle, were brought forth and laid on the rifles and some of the soldiers kissed these flags and wept. 

These were men who fought real battles, not just engaged in debates where frat boy rules reigned. These were men for whom defeat was a burning hole in their souls, not just a game lost.

And Chamberlain was given the honor to preside over this, although he was not the general who commanded the division which lined the road. He mentions he was a little uncomfortable with this honor since the general who commanded the division would have expected that role, but the general was gracious about it. These soldiers, who had fought with bullets flying around them--and Chamberlain had a fresh arm wound--were very concerned about how their comrades saw them. Embarrassment was a driving motivator. "Honor" meant standing up and pressing forward in the face of bullets and bombs.

Those 19th century men were made of sterner stuff than we are today. Mr. Obama had a tough decision to make sending the crew in to get Osama Bin Laden. He might have felt at home among Chamberlain and Sheridan.  

But even he, and certainly not Romney, did not make decisions with the bullets whizzing around his head.