[July 29, 2024] With a swift hand-twist and pushing forward on the slide, my M1911 .45 caliber pistol is now ready to fire. As regular readers know, I grew up with guns, mostly shotguns and rifles, but also with the understanding of how to use them, stressing safety, target practice, proper storage, and the rules of proper gun use. These rules were deeply ingrained in those of us who grew up in the 1950s and 60s, and I was always with a gun at my side in defense of others.
Moments ago, while sitting at my desk, I finished cleaning and inspecting my “M1911” (an early production model) to make sure it was lubricated and ready to use if I were ever to need it to protect myself, my wife, or those around me. And I will be ready. Anyone who threatens any innocent person in my presence will regret the day by paying a high price.
My Dad gave me good advice while growing up, some of it practical; more often than not, his advice was moral. Taken together, I was given the chance to show others that I was up to the task of being a valuable and good man, a defender, or alternatively, I could show the world that I was someone who could not be trusted or believed, a liar, a fraud, a coward. The latter was not an option for me. But I did have a choice. Like me, you also must choose, pick one. There is no middle moral ground.
Was I scared as a kid to adopt the ways of a good, moral, prudent, wise, sane man? Yes. Was I a happy boy? No. “Being scared is okay,” my Dad would say. He would tell me that doing what is right when you are scared makes you who you are. “You will want to run from danger, but to be a man, you must stand your ground and not let evil pass.”
Dad would say, “Protecting others is one of your important jobs as a man,” or something like that effect. This is why he taught me how to fight, arm wrestle, use a gun, run, swim, hunt, survive in the wilderness, paddle a boat, navigate to avoid getting lost, set a broken leg, stop arterial bleeding, suture a bad cut, all those skills we used to take for granted but today are no longer valued.
And there were those in the Deep South who were the epitome of evil, like criminals (scammers and pedophiles) who targeted the weak, mostly elderly and children. As well, members of the Ku Klux Klan were still a real danger in those days. And others like outlaw bikers, such as the Hell’s Angels, Bandidos, and Pagans, who were mostly thugs on large motorcycles traveling in gangs. Being a good man, however, meant standing firm against this kind of evil.
To stand in defense of others is a theme of human existence and has been at the heart of civilizations since ancient times. When men become lazy, immoral, bitter, hedonistic, or demoralized, we start to see fractures in that civilization. Communities and nations fall when men reject masculinity, strength, and courage. There are plenty of historical examples.
Today, you must also choose.
Voluntarily defend others or be part of the collapse.
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Dad would say, “Protecting others is one of your important jobs as a man,” or something like that effect. This is why he taught me how to fight, arm wrestle, use a gun, run, swim, hunt, survive in the wilderness, paddle a boat, navigate to avoid getting lost, set a broken leg, stop arterial bleeding, suture a bad cut, all those skills we used to take for granted but today are no longer valued.
Excellent thoughts here in the leadership forum. And a great start for a long conversation that is being had now in the West. The problem is, there is no obvious or easy solution to the march of evil that is upon us.
I was thinking about the recent events on college campuses and about how the protests were mostly led by white, single, women (and ugly too but I digress) and that these women are nearly all from the northeast or coastal west and how they were raised in privilege of significant wealth and access. It appears to me that this coastal value system has ruined many of these women and has led them astray to the very future they so desperately want, but have guaranteed themselves that they will not get. They want to be seen as the “girl boss” and be respected but …. that will never happen. They cannot be the girlie boss and have respect because these two ideas cannot be held simultaneously. I wish them all luck. Gen. Satterfield recommended Girling the Boy Scouts – https://www.city-journal.org/article/girling-the-boy-scouts. This is another example to prove my point.
JT, interesting idea here and something that I will explore in the future.
Yes sir, JT is on it. I too noticed the article from City Journal about the Left in its takeover of our institutions and this is a long term trend in America and the West. The result of which we are just starting to see and what we see is not good for those “girl bosses” or their families – or rather lack of families.
Good points here, and yes, please write about this soon, Gen. Satterfield ….. and link it to the coastal states of America and how they are making America a worse place to live and raise a family. Just writing this for a friend, the FBI and DOJ can go and arrest him, not me, I’m the messenger ….. ha ha ha ha 😜
True enough, America is in decline in direct proportion that radical leftists have made inroads to our institutions.
Gen, Satterfield, sir, as you know, I’m new to your blog and I do hope to make a sufficient contribution in my thoughts. And, like Neat Man II (below comment) I too see a link between your letters and this article addressing the culture of the deep south with you today. Maybe this is why most of the men who join the US military are from the south, not for the reasons of poverty like so often given, but because the culture of the military is more similar to the deep south culture and it is therefore a more comfortable place for them to be. Just me thinking here.
Well William S., you did a good job with that comment and I think you might have hit upon something. Thanks.
Nicely said, Gen. S. Thanks.
Another look back upon how the culture of the Deep South effects all of us today and especially how it made Gen. Satterfield who he is and was as a kid. But we also see in Gen. Satterfield’s ideas that he is also a man who thinks and can make independent decisions, all of which propelled him to success. Thank you, sir for your article today on “the defense of others” and the moral underpinnings of that idea. And no small moral benefit but huge and one of the biggest because civilizations are built upon that moral task for men.
Well said, Willie. I too saw this in the article and want to add that if it were not for Gen. Satterfield writing about it, most of us would not have made the connection. Although, I must note that his “Letters to My Granddaughter” series points us in that same direction. Another excellent article on his blog.
https://www.theleadermaker.com/granddaughter-letters/
Willie and Neat Man II, yep, good thinking on all our parts. Great website.
And, be sure to get a copy of Gen. Satterfield’s two books on Amazon because you will love the stories there.