I’m sharing a quick thought or two on what I have taken away from watching this discussion, which occurred on 26 Sep 2023 and featured Christian Brose, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. It was moderated by Stephen Kotkin, director of the Hoover History Lab. I have listened to the discussion a few times now, as I was driving to and fro, and many principles came to mind. People generally think that what happens in discussions like this lies way outside their respective bailiwicks in the workplace, business, community or life, but would do well to note that, down to the household and individual levels, people who are savvy at life would tend to do similar things on a much smaller scale and of course at a much more individualized level. The video is embededd below. Watch it first and then continue reading, or watch it later. But watch or listen to it in its entirety. If you want to improve in your presentation skills, listening in on good conversations certainly helps. That’s because you learn something in the process.
Godly Contentment is indeed great gain. Complacency, whether you are wealthy and complacent or whether you are poor and complacent, leads to decay, to falling apart, to ruin. This whole conversation is about how to secure oneself and one’s own interests when the nation or community you are part of seems bent on self-destruction. It calls to remembrance, to my mind, how the DIUs, meaning “Defense Innovation Units” mentioned in passing in this conversation, are really DOUs or what I call “Defense Optimization Units” because real innovation can only happen when those engaging in it are healthy, strong, functioning organisms. Otherwise, “innovation” becomes nothing more than braggadocio. To think that one has the capacity, that one can draw on one’s history, that one has done it before and can do it again is braggadocio.
In the Bible, in the book of 2 Samuel Chapter Five, verses 17 to 25, there is an account of the Philistines coming against Israel. Twice they deployed in the Valley of Rephaim, and twice they were defeated. Were the Philistines defeated the same way twice? No. King David heeded God’s instruction to go around the Philistines the second time. King David was a battle-hardened warrior by the time he became king over Israel. In these two cases of external invasion, he did not allow himself to become complacent and rely on his own experiences.
The Moneyball Military is a conversation definitely worth listening to or watching. Come and tell me what YOUR takeaways were! You’re welcome!
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