Universal Truths in McRaven’s ‘Code’

Review by Bill Doughty

Leadership skills and virtuous behavior are built into the human DNA.

That’s the conclusion of Adm. William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired) author of “The Hero Code: Lessons Learned from a Life Well Lived” (Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Book Group, 2021).

“There is a hero in all of us. There is an innate code that has been there since the birth of mankind. It is written in our DNA. It is what drove the great expansion of humanity out of Africa. It summoned the explorers to cross the deserts and the seas. It helped create the great faiths. It emboldened the early scientists and philosophers. It nurtured the ill and infirm. It spoke truth to the masses. It brought order to chaos and hope to the desperate. This code is not a cipher, or a cryptograph, or a puzzle to be solved. It is a moral code, an internal code of conduct that drives the human race to explore, to nurture, to comfort, to inspire, and to laugh so that societies can flourish.”

McRaven helps readers and leaders tap into their innate evolved DNA. Like Richard Dawkins in “Unweaving the Rainbow,” McRaven calls for humility, respect, and courage as he gently reminds us of our mortality and relative insignificance in space and time.

McRaven writes this universal truth:

“To be humble is to recognize that one’s intellect, one’s physical strengths, one’s wealth all pale when compared to the vastness, the complexity, the richness, the power, and the grandeur of the universe. And if we are humbled by our place in the universe, then we are much more likely to see that our differences are infinitely small. We are much more likely to see that our understanding is equally fraught and that our power to overcome even he tiniest challenges is similarly difficult. Humility is born out of respect. Respect for what we do not know. Respect for what we cannot readily see. But out of this humble approach to life, we are more likely to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us, more likely to gaze into a microscope or peer at the stars and be awed, more likely to be inspired by little acts of kindness. And we are much more likely to treat others as we would have them treat us.”

Charles Duke steps on the moon during Apollo 16, April 1972. 

In a poignant post-Trump insight, McRaven writes: “The power of humility is that it brings us closer together, and the role of every hero is to unite people, not divide them.”

Throughout this compact but powerful book McRaven tells stories of true heroes such as Air Force General Charles Duke, the youngest astronaut (so far) to walk on the moon; Marine Private First Class Ralph Johnson, who in 1968 leapt on a grenade and “gave his last full measure of devotion to the men he served with;” Gary Sinise, who selflessly brought educational supplies to a war zone in Afghanistan as part of Operation International Children; and Sen. John S. McCain III, a POW survivor and true American hero, who showed McCraven humility, gratitude, honor, and a sense of humor.

Abraham Lincoln

Being able to laugh at oneself is the sign of strength, and McRaven presents a self-deprecating joke Abraham Lincoln told to people: “(Lincoln) loved to tell the story of a man who approached him on a train one day. The man said, ‘I have an article in my possession which belongs to you.’ Taking a jack-knife from his pocket, the man explained, ‘This knife was placed in my hands with the promise that I was to keep it until I found a man uglier than myself. Allow me now to say, sir, that I think you are fairly entitled to the property.’”

McRaven introduces lesser-known heroes, too, including Navy Capt. Ted Grabowsky, who taught that “honesty is the cornerstone of integrity, the foundation upon which all other aspects of your character will be built.” He tells us of cancer researcher Dr. Jim Allison, who personifies perseverance (and has an interesting connection to the great Willie Nelson). And, he shares a personal story about cancer doctor Michael Keating, who shows that hope and change can be the strongest forces in the universe.

Ten years ago this year McRaven, under Commander in Chief President Barack Obama, commanded the Navy SEALs who brought justice to Osama bin Laden. If that was a career high for him, surely one of his deepest lows came in a separate combat action when some of the military forces under McRaven’s command mistakenly killed two non-enemy sons and a daughter of a father in Afghanistan. In the tenth chapter McRaven relates in heartbreaking detail how he met with that father and how forgiveness can be transforming.

During a Profiles in Leadership seminar, Retired U.S. Navy Adm. William H. McRaven speaks to service members inside the Pfingston Reception Center located on Joint Base San Antonio – Lackland, Texas, Jan. 10, 2018, about character and how it applies to leadership. (TSgt. Ave I. Young)

The "Forgiveness" chapter’s epigram is by Mahatma Gandhi: “The weak can not forgive; forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” We can tie McRaven’s wisdom –– giving up the burden of hatred –– to the current state of society in 2021: intolerant political correctness, QAnon conspiracies, cancel culture, voter suppression, and domestic extremism and terrorism, including the Jan. 6 insurrection attack on the Capitol –– seeking to divide rather than unite.

“Society today seems to be easily offended. We are quick to anger, and some people believe every offensive act, no matter the intent, requires a swift rebuke. The hardest thing any hero can do is to forgive. It is easier to storm the hill, fight the fire, and stop a madman with a gun. It is hard to forgive, because we are afraid. Afraid that forgiving will take away the anger that drives us, the hatred that motivates us, the righteous indignation of being wronged. We want more than anything to harness the outrage, feel the power of injustice, and the fury of discontent, so we can lash out at the offender and feel justified. We think that retribution, no matter how small or how large, will sooth our soul.

It will not.”

He advises, “Be the victor, not the victim.”

Boatswain's Mate Seaman Apprentice Esau Arellano aboard guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114), Aug. 4, 2020. (MC3 Anthony Collier)

His code begins with “courage.” He advises, “Take one step forward and face your inner demons. And if you take that one step forward you will find the courage you seek…”

It takes profound individual courage, for example, to confront the universal human truth of our mortality. Which reminds me again of Richard Dawkins, who writes in “Unweaving the Rainbow”: “We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia.”

In “Hero Code” McRaven gives respect to courageous heroes. He quotes John Adams, William Penn, Mark Twain, Winston Churchill, Anne Frank, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nelson Mandela, Helen Keller, Sonia Sotomayor, among others.

McRaven distills his perspective on heroism down to each individual. He recommends readers find their talent “and use it to inspire others –– to give hope, to make tomorrow a better day.”

This compact book is packed with bite-sized philosophy, common-sense ethos, and universal wisdom.

Mattis on Preventing Leadership Failure

Review by Bill Doughty

General Jim Mattis, former Secretary of Defense, says a commander who hasn't read hundreds of books is functionally illiterate and will be a failure in a position of leadership.

In his new memoir, "Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead" (Penguin Random House, 2019), he writes, “If you haven’t read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent, because your personal experiences alone aren’t broad enough to sustain you,” Jim Mattis writes in his memoir. 

“Any commander who claims he is ‘too busy to read’ is going to fill body bags with his troops as he learns the hard way,” Mattis says.

On Sunday's Global Public Square with Fareed Zakaria, Mattis explains: "Life is too short and leadership roles are too short ... to learn everything you need to know based on your own experience."

As a leader of Marines and Sailors, Mattis says many of his best "new" ideas came from old books. Reading not only quenched his thirst for knowledge but also sharpened his critical thinking skills and strategic competency.

"Everyone has got to lead in their own way," Mattis told Zakaria. "But I would say you have to have a curiosity about life, you have to have a thirst for learning. You have to be committed to your own development if you're going to be a leader."

Written with Bing West, "Call Sign Chaos" is a fast-paced, no-nonsense jog through Mattis's career, with a long focus on his role as a warrior and leader of warriors in what he calls the War of Terrorism (not Terror).

“Reading sheds light on the dark path ahead,” Mattis says. “By traveling into the past, I enhance my grasp of the present.” The book is meant for leaders in the military as well as in business, sports, politics or other endeavors.

Among the best parts of the Mattis memoir are the appendices, including his resignation letter to President Trump, a memo justifying awards for his troops, and an insightful article in Business Insider about Mattis's book and author suggestions.

Here are Mattis's recommended books when he served as Secretary of Defense:

"With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa" by E. B. Sledge (1981)
"One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer" by Nathaniel Fick (2005)
"Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, Robert McNamara, The Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam" by H.R. McMaster (1997)
"Fighting Talk: Forty Maxims on War, Peace, and Strategy" by Colin Gray (2007)
"The Future of Strategy" by Colin Gray (2015)
"Military Innovation in the Interwar Period" by Williamson Murray (1996)
"Before the First Shot Is Fired: How America Can Win Or Lose Off The Battlefield" by Tony Zinni (2014) 
"Scipio Africanus: Greater Than Napoleon" by Basil H. Liddell Hart (1926)
"My American Journey" by Colin Powell (1995)
"The Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer (1971)
"Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela (1994) Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield (1998)
"Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War" by Robert Gates (2014)
"The Lessons of History" by Will and Ariel Durant (1968)
"The Greatest Raid of All" by Lucas Phillips (1958)
"The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant" by Ulysses S. Grant (1885) March of Folly: "From Troy to Vietnam" by Barbara Tuchman (1984) The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman (1962)
"Alexander Hamilton" by Ron Chernow (2004)
"Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" by Paul Kennedy (1987)
"Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD)
"Diplomacy" by Henry Kissinger (1994)
"World Order" by Henry Kissinger (2014)
"Defeat into Victory" by Viscount Slim (1956)
"Just and Unjust Wars" by Michael Walzer (1977)
"War, Morality, and the Military Profession" by Malham Wakin (1979)
"For Country and Corps: The Life of General Oliver P. Smith" by Gail Shisler (2009) "Sherman: Soldier, Realist, American" by Basil H. Liddell Hart (1929)
"The Rules of the Game" by Andrew Gordon (1996)
"The Far Pavilions" by M. M. Kaye (1978)

Earlier in his career, as a leader of Marines, Mattis recommended or required a variety of books for his warriors. Among the recommendations are these titles:

"Gates of Fire: Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae" – Stephen Pressfield
"A Bell for Adano" – John Hersey
"One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer" – Nathaniel Fick
"Achilles in Vietnam" – Jonathan Shay
"The Crusades Through Arab Eyes" – Amin Maalouf 
"The Village" – Bing West
"The Utility of Force" – General Rupert Smith
"The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror" – Bernard Lewis
"Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia" – Ahmed Rashid
"Taliban" – Ahmed Rashid
"Imperial Grunts" – Robert Kaplan
"What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East" – Bernard Lewis
"From Beirut to Jerusalem" – Thomas Friedman
"Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan" – Lester Grau
"The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War" – Ali Ahmad Jalali and Lester Grau
"The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power" – Max Boot
"Soldiers of God: With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and Pakistan" – Robert Kaplan
"Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia" – Ahmed Rashid
"The Punishment of Virtue" – Sarah Chayes
"Afghan Guerrilla Warfare" – Ali Ahmad Jalali
"What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam" – John Esposito
"The Battle for God" – Karen Armstrong
"Islamism and its Enemies in the Horn of Africa" – Alex De Waal
"No God but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam" – Reza Aslan
"The Idea of Pakistan" – Stephen Cohen

This Marines' Marine also reads poetry. “Other Men’s Flowers,” an anthology by Lord Wavell, is one of his personal favorites.



Mattis on 9/11

At last year's 9/11 commemoration ceremony at the Pentagon, then-SecDef Mattis said, "We commit ourselves to remembering and honoring the lives that might have been. They endowed us forever with an enduring sense of purpose," he said, and "in their passing they empowered us."

On Sunday's Face the Nation, Margaret Brennan asked Mattis whether the Taliban can be trusted "to make a clean break with terrorists and honor a diplomatic deal."

Mattis responded, "Well, you're going to the heart of the issue right there: can they be trusted? You remember when we reduced nuclear weapons with Russia we talked about 'trust, but verify.' In this case with this group, I think you want to verify then trust. We've asked them – demanded – that they break with Al-Qaeda since the Bush administration; they've refused to do so," Mattis said. 

"They murdered three thousand innocent people. Citizens of 91 countries on 9/11. We should never forget that."

The Only Thing We Have to Fear

Reviews by Bill Doughty

Middle Age artist Hieronymous Bosch evoked fear and evil in his art hundreds of years ago.

Fear is corrosive. It eats away at a democracy. It feeds anger and hate. Sometimes it's necessary, but often fear is overhyped and misplaced, according to evidence provided by such critical thinkers as Steven Pinker, George Will, Bill Nye, Tom Hanks and Barry Glassner.

Fear is appealing and easy to access; the amygdala is immediate. The news media are rewarded by hyping fear: "If it bleeds, it leads." Autocrats foment fear to gain support. Fear works. 

Author Glassner reminds us in "The Culture of Fear":

"Samuel Coleridge was right when he claimed, 'In politics, what begins in fear usually ends up in folly.' Political activists are more inclined, though, to heed an observation from Richard Nixon: 'People react to fear, not love. They don't teach that in Sunday school, but it's true.' That principle, which guided the late president's political strategy throughout his career, is the sine qua non of contemporary political campaigning. Marketers of products and services ranging from car alarms to TV news programs have taken it to heart as well."

Glassner's national bestseller, featured in "Bowling for Columbine," is "The Culture of Fear: Why Americans are Afraid of the Wrong Things: Crime, Drugs, Minorities, Teen Moms, Killer Kids, Mutant Microbes, Plane Crashes, Road Rage, and So Much More" (Basic Books/Perseus, 1999). [Note: I pulled this book of the shelf to see how it could add context to the review of "Enduring Ideals," which follows this review; Glassner recently updated his work, and I'm looking forward to seeing his perspective twenty years later.]


Don't Believe the Hype

If people are afraid of the "wrong things," constantly sensationalized in the media and by some self-serving politicians, what are the "right things?" 

In "The Culture of Fear," Glassner tries to answer two questions: "Why are Americans so fearful lately, and why are our fears so often misplaced?" He concludes that instead of worrying about statistically minuscule threats, we should take "decisive action to quash – problems such as hunger, dilapidated schools, gun proliferation, and deficient health care for much of the U.S. population."

"Will it take an event comparable to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor to convince us that we must joint together as a nation and tackle these problems? At the start of the new century it ought to be considerably easier for us to muster our collective will and take decisive action than it was for our own parents and grandparents six decades earlier. This time we do not have to put our own lives or those of our children at risk on battlefields halfway around the globe."

It's interesting to read Glassner's perspective, published two years before 9/11 and the subsequent U.S. invasion of Iraq.

He looks back to 1938 and the famous Orson Welles broadcast of an adaptation of H.G. Wells's "War of the Worlds." The broadcast created panic in New Jersey because of it's hyper-realistic presentation of actual "fake news." Glassner contrasts the hyper-fear of a Mars attack with the actual dangers of the rise of fascism in Europe at the time.


Commitment to Freedom

Meanwhile, nearly 80 years ago, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was alarmed – but not fearful – about the rise of Fascism, especially the threat of Nazism to Western democracies, as well as the militarization of Imperial Japan.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

On January 6, 1941, eleven months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, FDR gave his Four Freedoms speech. An examination of the speech's concepts is presented in a stunning coffee-table book, "Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms" (Abbeville Press Publishers, 2018).

The book offers beautiful art by Norman Rockwell and other contemporaries, especially from World War II, as well as photos, sketches, source material and reimagined art inspired by the concepts of liberty that could be guaranteed by democracy.

Along with the finely reproduced art are insightful essays to give context and history.

William J. Vanden Heuvel, former deputy U.S. representative to the United Nations, writes:

"(In) the address to the United States Congress that history knows as the Four Freedoms speech ... the president asked not only his countrymen and women but also the people of the world to understand that the terrible scourge of war could be justified to our children's children only if we in faith and honor determined to create a different world to assure the peace of humankind. That world, Roosevelt proposed, should be based on the Four Freedoms – freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, freedom from fear. In the world of the time of the president's speech, however – beset by war, oppressed by Nazi domination, brutalized by racist thugs – every tenet of democracy was threatened and ridiculed."President Roosevelt's power as a speaker lay in his ability to present profound ideas in simple language."

Clockwise from top left: Freedom from fear, freedom from want, freedom of religion and freedom of speech.

Rockwell's power as an artist transformed Roosevelt's words into pictures, even if the artist's paintings were imperfect in capturing the diversity and potential of America then and especially now. Rockwell hired people to pose and painted from staged photographs, so his realism wasn't quite real, and his staging might be considered hokey and corny in a post-Vietnam War and post-9/11 America.

Nevertheless, according to another essayist in this volume, Mark Shulman, "Rockwell translated FDR's lofty language into imagery that appealed to Americans' better angels and inspired the kinds of sacrifice necessary to fund the (Second World) war, to fight it, and to persevere in the face of horrifying adversity." 

In the wake of the First World War and the Great Depression – and in the growing shadow of an approaching WWII – FDR succeeded in coming to the aid of Great Britain.

Roosevelt and his team negotiated the U.S. Navy destroyers-for-bases initiative and lend-lease act while prying Americans, influenced by Charles Lindbergh, away from isolationism in the America First movement. 

Essayist Stephane Grimaldi writes, "Norman Rockwell embodied the American people who had to resign themselves to the need to defend the universal ideals of justice, peace, and prosperity. But President Roosevelt had to convince citizens that a foreign war was necessary. After all, aren't oceans the last bastion against tyranny?" Not really.

Imperial Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and other parts of Oahu on Dec. 7, 1941 forced the nation to confront the realities and dangers of foreign threats in the Pacific and Europe. Rockwell's paintings, produced in 1942, were in part a mission statement outlined by Roosevelt for the United States and its Allies.

Rockwell's Rosie the Riveter, part woman, part man.

Essayist Jan Eliasson writes, "...while oceans may separate people, there is not that much that sets hopes and dreams apart."

This book blends history and shows the power of art, including in shaping public opinion. Some surprises included in this book:

• Rockwell's portrait of tough and gritty Rosie the Riveter, literally transgender because Rockwell used a woman's face and a man's body as real-life models; 
• Rockwell turning down a request to paint recruiting art during Vietnam;
• an interview with Ruby Bridges (the black girl in the iconic and powerful 1963 Rockwell painting "The Problem We All Live With") revealing that her father fought and was wounded in the Korean War; 
• the effects of Rockwell's art on Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and the United Nations; 
• how FDR, a former Assistant Secretary of the Navy, was inspired by President Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address in developing the four freedoms concept; and
• Eleanor Roosevelt's role in translating FDR's mission statement into a Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Commitment Against Fear

Essayist Allida Black insists we recognize the role FDR's widow, Eleanor Roosevelt, played after WWII in perpetuating the concepts and ideals of the four freedoms. Black shows Ms. Roosevelt's "concrete" achievement in putting the four freedoms into action:

"If FDR gave us the vision that Rockwell immortalized on canvas, ER insisted that American's recognize what it meant. 'It is not only in war ... that we fight for freedom,' she wrote, shortly after Rockwell's paintings appeared in the Saturday Evening Post. 'When the war is over, the four freedoms will not have been won, we shall simply have dominated their more aggressive enemies. At all times, day by day, we have to continue fighting for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom from fear, and freedom from want – for these are things that must be gained in peace as well as in war.'"

"Ultimately," Black writes, "Eleanor Roosevelt's commitment changed the world." The same can be said, to a degree, about Norman Rockwell who confronted fear in various forms before and after the war.

But fear, according to essayist Daisy Rockwell, the artist's granddaughter, "is now threatening all four of the freedoms Norman Rockwell enshrined."

Daisy Rockwell contends, "Since 2001, Americans have in fact been encouraged to live their lives in fear." She says, "A terrorist, by definition, is someone whose goal is to incite fear. Fear leads to chaos."

It can be argued that the attacks of 9/11 and Russian attacks on our political system and culture are forms of terrorism designed to cause fear and division leading to an erosion of freedom and unity.

As usual, the antidote to the corrosion of fear is found in education and critical thinking. So is art. "If you see something, say something" becomes, according to Daisy Rockwell, "see something, paint something.

Bill Nye says, "see something, think something."

Hieronymous Bosch's weird and fearful Vision of Hell.

Norman Rockwell's concept of the Golden Rule, a core concept for the Four Freedoms – universally applied.

'F-Word' Questions

Review by Bill Doughty

Our answers to ten questions can provide "reassurance or a warning we dare not ignore," says Madeleine Albright, author of "Fascism: A Warning" (Harper Collins, 2018).

Albright tracks the ebb and flow of fascism, "the F-word" she says, through history – taking root in modern times in the fertile period of discontent and upheaval between the two World Wars in the 1920s and 30s. 

Italian Mussolini arose in the Fasces movement, born nearly 100 years ago and modeled after concepts from the Roman Empire. Their symbol was a "fasces," a tight bundle of sticks with an eagle-headed scepter tied with an axe, an implement carried by Roman consuls. Germany's Hitler and Mussolini, at first, marched in lockstep.

Albright, an immigrant from Czechoslovakia who became U.S. Secretary of State, shows that fascism can come from either the right or the left. She identifies North Korea as an completely outright-fascist nation.

Another F-word: Fear

Fear is fascism's oxygen. "Fear is why fascism's emotional reach can extend to all levels of society," Albright says.

The America First movement in the late 1930s, founded in fear, culminated with the formation of the America First Committee in 1940. AFC "brought together pacifists, isolationists and Nazi sympathizers to fight against the country's prospective entry into World War II," she writes. "Four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Hitler declared war on the United States the AFC soon disbanded."

Chaplin as Hitler; Oakie as Mussolini in "The Dictator."

Albright gives poignant history of modern fascism, largely but not exclusively from a European perspective. We "meet" Mussolini and Hitler, and we come face to face with Venezuela's Chavez, North Korea's Kim Jong-il (who Albright met 20 years ago), Hungary's Orbán, Turkey's Erdogan, Duterte of the Philippines, and Russia's Putin, a man she describes as "small and pale, so cold as to be almost reptilian."

One way to fight fear and fascism is with fun, making fun of falsehoods by a cult of personality. That's what Charlie Chaplain did in the 1930s, helping Americans understand the flaws in Hitler's and Mussolini's vision and resulting idolatry of their followers.

Fight for Freedom

She also introduces us to heroes of freedom and true representational government who were willing to fight racism and fascism.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Mandela

Consider South Africa's Nelson Mandela.

"(In 1962) Nelson Mandela began serving twenty-seven years, the prime of his life, in prison. His crime was to oppose the racist oppressors who had secured a monopoly on power and privilege in his country. The courageous dissident had a profound cause for grievance, a legitimate reason for bitterness, and thousands of days behind bars to cultivate hate. Instead he chose to spend time learning about the people who had put him in jail – the Afrikaners. He studied their language, history, resentments and fears. When the long-awaited day came and he was finally released, Mandela not only understood those who had thrown him into prison; he was able to communicate with them, find common ground with them, and – most astonishingly – lead them. As president, Mandela pushed back against the many in his party to wanted immediate justice for the multitude of wrongs done to members of the anti-apartheid movement. He appointed a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that received testimony from all sides. Unlike so many, he found the trappings of high office eminently resistible and refused to stand for a second term."

We also meet a founder of an independent Czechoslovakia, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, a believer in constitutional democracy 100 years ago. Albright writes:

"In 1918, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk was sworn in as president of an independent Czechoslovakia. With his erect bearing, old-world manners, modern outlook, and fearless commitment to democratic principles – including feminism and pluralism – Masaryk commanded a global reputation, despite the modest dimensions of the nation he led. Due to his age, his health declined even as the threat from the Third Reich grew – in the 1930s, no fully democratic nation was more endangered. His response, when asked to explain what was at stake: 'Democracy is not a form of state, it is not just something that is embodied in a constitution; democracy is a view of life, it requires a belief in human beings, in humanity ... I have already said that democracy is a discussion. But the real discussion is possible only if people trust each other and if they try fairly to find the truth.'" For all its shortcomings, there is no other form of government to which such words apply. It is up to us to remedy democracy's faults when and wherever we can, but never to forget the underlying strengths. Up to us, as well, to realize that democracy has enemies who do not advertise that fact."

Above all, Albright warns against complacency and taking our democracy for granted.

She notes the watershed event for Americans in the previous century as the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941 forcing the United States into a two-front war. That war ultimately defeated fascism in Imperial Japan and in Germany and Italy. In 2018 all three of these former enemies of liberty are free, prosperous and democratic societies.

Albright provides decades of examples of the rise of despotism that seem to chip away at democratic nations – away from, in her words, "the wisdom of Lincoln or Mandela's largeness of soul." "Lincoln and Mandela fought with monsters; neither became one."

Ten F-word Warnings + Five More

Her ten "right questions" to us are directed to current and potential leaders to identify and fend off fascism as it develops:

• Do they cater to our prejudices by suggesting that we treat people outside our ethnicity, race, creed, or party as unworthy of dignity or respect?
• Do they want us to nurture our anger toward those who we believe have done us wrong, rub raw our grievances, and set our sights on revenge?
• Do they encourage us to have contempt for our governing institutions and the electoral process?
• Do they seek to destroy our faith in essential contributors to democracy such as an independent press and a professional judiciary?
• Do they exploit the symbols of patriotism – the flag, the pledge – in a conscious effort to turn us against one another?
• If defeated at the polls, will they accept the verdict or insist without evidence that they have won?
• Do they go beyond asking for our votes to brag about their ability to solve all problems, put to rest all anxieties, and satisfy every desire?
• Do they solicit our cheers by speaking casually and with pumped up machismo about using violence to blow enemies away?
• Do they echo the attitude of Mussolini: 'The crowd doesn't have to know,' all it has to do is believe and 'submit to being shaped'?
• Or do they invite us to join with them in building and maintaining a healthy center for our societies, a place where rights and duties are apportioned fairly, the social contract is honored, and all have room to dream and grow?

She praises George W. Bush for his even-keeled rejection of fear and hate in the wake of 9/11. We are reminded of the late Sen. John McCain's honorable stance against racist hatred when he politely but firmly corrected a supporter who attempted to slander his opponent, Barack Obama. McCain's concession speech is a much-cited example of grace, humility, honor, courage and commitment to the Constitution.

Albright and McCain discuss the legacy of Czechoslovakia's late President Václev Havel at the Library of Congress in 2014.

Albright said this about McCain in a tribute published by BBC: "I will remember him as one of the most valiant, patriotic and dedicated public servants I've ever met, somebody who understood the honor of serving his country and who served his country with honor." Albright and McCain traveled to her country of birth, Czechoslovakia, in 1990 to monitor fair elections.

Former U.S. Navy POW John McCain; Sen. McCain's strategist Steve Schmidt

McCain's former Republican campaign strategist was Steve Schmidt.

Schmidt sees a simple formula that explains the rise of fascism wherever it occurs, threatening and sometimes ending democracies. 

Would-be strongmen, he says: (1) incite "fervor in a base through constant lying" + (2) scapegoat "minority populations" + (3) allege "conspiracies" + (4) spread "a sense of victimizations among those fervent supporters" + (5) assert "the need to exert heretofore unprecedented power" to protect the victim class from the scapegoated minority.

"Through all of history," Schmidt says, when totalitarianism rises and democracies fall, "you will find those five behaviors." Schmidt warns of leaders who use fear, falsehoods and fake pronouncements that they are above the law. He also warns of attacks on a free press and the rule of law.

Attacks on truth, justice, accountability and the free press are steps on the road to an acceptance of fascism.

How can we fend off fundamental attacks on freedom? By recognizing attempts to influence us with Orwellian attempts at creating hyper-nationalism through fear and feelings over critical thinking and reason.

A Final Word

Scholar and modern philosopher Yuval Noah Harari, author of "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind," "Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow" and "21 Lessons for the 21st Century," gives compelling advice for the Information Age in this TED talk: "Why fascism is so tempting -- and how your data could power it."

From TED Talks: 

"In a profound talk about technology and power, author and historian Yuval Noah Harari explains the important difference between fascism and nationalism – and what the consolidation of our data means for the future of democracy. Appearing as a hologram live from Tel Aviv, Harari warns that the greatest danger that now faces liberal democracy is that the revolution in information technology will make dictatorships more efficient and capable of control. 'The enemies of liberal democracy hack our feelings of fear and hate and vanity, and then use these feelings to polarize and destroy,' Harari says. 'It is the responsibility of all of us to get to know our weaknesses and make sure they don't become weapons.'"

He Made His Bed

Review by Bill Doughty

"Life is a struggle and the potential for failure is ever present, but those who live in fear of failure, or hardship, or embarrassment will never achieve their potential. Without pushing your limits, without occasionally sliding down the rope headfirst, without daring greatly, you will never know what is truly possible in your life."

Those are the words of retired Navy Adm. William H. McRaven, author of "Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life ... and Maybe Change the World" by Adm. William H. McRaven (Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Group, 2017)

Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL students participate in Surf Passage at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. Surf Passage is one of many physically demanding evolutions that are a part of the first phase of SEAL training. Navy SEALs are the maritime component of U.S. special forces and are trained to conduct a variety of operations from the sea, air and land. (DVIDS photo by Kyle Gahlau, Navy Media Content Services)

McRaven describes SEAL training in Coronado and the life-lessons to be learned, including: the importance of routine, perseverance and commitment, "even in the darkest moments;" failure makes people stronger; bold decision-making can and did save lives in Afghanistan; and to succeed "find someone to help you paddle."

Malala

He encourages people to face and keep paddling past their fears. It takes a team, but every individual can make a difference.

"If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world, it is the power of hope. The power of one person, a Washington, Lincoln, King, Mandela, and even a young girl from Pakistan, Malala. One person can change the world by giving people hope."

"Hope is the most powerful force in the universe. With hope you can inspire nations to greatness. With hope you can raise up the downtrodden. With hope you can ease the pain of unbearable loss. Sometimes all it takes is one person to make a difference."

Gen. John Kelly, United States Marine Corps, retired.

McRaven tells of the inspiring story of a visit to Dover Air Force Base by Marine Lt. Gen. John Kelly, then military assistant to the Secretary of Defense, to comfort families of dozens of service members killed in the war in Afghanistan. Kelly had lost a son in combat, Marine 1st Lt. Robert Kelly, killed in Afghanistan while serving with the Third Battalion, Fifth Marines. On that day at Dover, he provided real and personal comfort to others.
"Only John Kelly could have made a difference that day," McRaven writes. "His words were words of understanding. His were words of compassion, and above all, his were words of hope."

This small but powerful book is a quick and easy read but with a deceptively deep message of positivity in a pessimistic and divided time.

"...life is hard and sometimes there is little you can do to affect the outcome of your day. In battle soldiers die, families grieve, your days are long and filled with anxious moments. You search for something that can give you solace, that can motivate you to begin your day, that can be a sense of pride in an oftentimes ugly world. But it is not just combat. it is daily life that needs this same sense of structure. Nothing can replace the strength and comfort of one's faith, but sometimes the simple act of making your bed can give you the lift you need to start your day and provide you the satisfaction to end it right."

A Navy SEAL can inspire his team. His team can win a battle or cut off the head of a "snake." A battle or a key mission can win or stop a war.

One act can make a difference. "Start off by making your bed," advises McRaven. He made his bed and he changed his life and the lives of others, and he can change the lives of those willing to read and lead.

Former Navy Admirals McRaven and Stavridis

Before leaving the Navy after 37 years of distinguished service as a Navy SEAL, Adm. McRaven served as commander of U.S. Special Operations Forces. Like Adm. James Stavridis, who serves as dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, McRaven moved from leading in the military to leading in higher education. McRaven is chancellor of the University of Texas system.

McRaven & Russell on Fear, Hope and Beginning of Wisdom

by Bill Doughty

Retired Adm. William McRaven, former commander of the United States Special Forces Command, published a list of recommended books in 2013, the year before he retired. The list included some familiar Navy Reads favorites: "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell, "The World is Flat 3.0" by Thomas Friedman, "Made to Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath, and "Eleven Rings" by NBA Coach Phil Jackson.

McRaven's book and author recommendations were presented to special operations warriors as a way to "understand contemporary issues, develop a strong appreciation of our history and heritage, and stimulate creative thinking to confront complex challenges." The complete list was published on "War on the Rocks."

When he promulgated his list McRaven said he valued critical thinking and analysis, and he expected his SEALS and other warfighters to confront challenges head-on. He suggested the same approach to new college graduates.

McRaven was a guest on this past Sunday's This Week show on ABC TV where he discussed his civilian job or "new mission" as Chancellor of the University of Texas system. Guest anchor Martha Raddatz played clips from his viral world-famous commencement address from last year at the UT with advice about what to do if you want to change the world. McRaven explained what he'd learned from SEAL training, starting with "make your bed."

McRaven challenged graduates, just as he challenged his warrior readers, to face their fears and embrace hope.

"If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world, it is the power of hope. The power of one person — Washington, Lincoln, King, Mandela and even a young girl from Pakistan, Malala — one person can change the world by giving people hope," he said to University of Texas graduates.

Nearly 100 years ago, in 1917, the year the United States entered World War I, philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote this about the subjects of fear and hope in an essay, "Education":

"No institution inspired by fear can further life. Hope, not fear, is the creative principle in human affairs. All that has made man great has sprung from the attempt to secure what is good, not from the struggle to avert what was thought evil. It is because modern education is so seldom inspired by a great hope that it so seldom achieves a great result. The wish to preserve the past rather than the hope of creating the future dominates the minds of those who control the teaching of the young. Education should not aim at a passive awareness of dead facts, but at an activity directed towards the world that our efforts are to create. It should be inspired, not by a regretful hankering after the extinct beauties of Greece and the Renaissance, but by a shining vision of the society that is to be, of the triumphs that thought will achieve in the time to come, and of the ever-widening horizon of man's survey over the universe. Those who are taught in this spirit will be filled with life and hope and joy, able to bear their part in bringing to mankind a future less somber than the past, with faith in the glory that human effort can create."

Russell, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950 and author of "A History of Western Philosophy," is sometimes quoted in commencement ceremonies, too.

The excerpt above from "Education" was published in an anthology of nonfiction, fiction and poetry titled "The World's Best," edited by Whit Burnett (The Dial Press, New York, 1950).

Russell himself introduced the piece, "because reverence for human individuality and mental initiative are, in my opinion, of the utmost importance, and are increasingly threatened ..."

Russell was a pacifist who believed that a strategy of reason and cooperation was better than tactics of killing and conflict in dealing with complex challenges. An opponent to the First World War, he later came to support Britain in war against Germany in World War II when he saw there was no reasoning with Adolf Hitler.

Among Russell's famous quotes are: "War does not determine who is right – only who is left" and "To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom..."