It is very late in my day and I am very tired but I must briefly comment because your opening ... "this world demanded of us two traits—knowledge and a will to action." ... I believe is the atom at the core of the plan and the purpose of the entirety of existance. If my education had not meandered through molecular genetics and evolutionary biology, physics and organic chemistry to then spend 40 years controlling consciousness and perception as an anesthesiologist I would never have arrived at this point. The human central nervous system is designed precisely for "knowledge and a will to action." Your essay elegantly affirms my personal daily dialog with my inner self that asks:
Are you pretending that today is just another day ?
Robert, I resonate strongly with this epic reply. You are striking at the heart of the matter. And that question "Are you pretending that today is just another day?" is one to live by. Thank you.
Barry, this is a question I try to answer in each of my essays. My hunch is our novel environment is the primary culprit. I can only assume it is both "damaged DNA" from the way we have harmed our food and also probably damaged minds from not living the sort of life Robert was talking about above. There is a world to explore here.
Not only do I enjoy your posts but I learn something new every time. Wasn’t hip to Captain Knox. Love everything about the concept of being an intelligent and intentional savage. Very cool story behind the Jedburghs
If you've read Fagles translations of Homer, you read Knox. He wrote the introductions to them and briefly touched on his war experience there. He also wrote a book of essays. The man is a legend. His experiences volunteering to fight in Spain are also profound.
Well Sam, you really stirred it up with this one! From the 30,000 ft. view to the 30 yd. arena you give some sharp historical context with the added flavor from your former career, AND give a spot on analysis of the State's position. You wrap it up with Epictetus' “unhindered”and some ‘sober sanity and bright eyed madness’ and send me off on my day with much the same inner questioning of myself as the doc above. Bravo,once again, and enjoy the day! Tim
You have described the quintessential ideal of manhood: Socrates was a combat veteran of Marathon, Plato a pankration champion, Aeschylus another Marathon combat veteran, David one of the greatest poets and a personally heroic battle captain.
Are you familiar with Patrick Leigh Fermor, who abducted the commanding German general on the island of Crete? They quoted classical texts to each other while on the run from pursuing German troops and Leigh Fermor is one of the great masters of English prose.
I worked in London during the late 1980s and almost daily the obituaries in The Daily Telegraph would be adorned by an article about a great, highly cultured and incredibly courageous hero of WWI or WWII. That generation was passing away then and is now gone. Importantly, the British nation gave birth to these exceptional men, and its society and institutions raised and empowered them. Look at “Great” Britain now. Look at Germany now. They are creepy repressive states full of depressed cowards. How to avoid this national fate?
The warrior-poet class must rise within a nation to power and leadership. Don’t let the greedy liars and thieves, the revolting pedophiles, and women get their soft hands on the levers of power. Their deceptive ideals, pseudo-values, and predatory empathy are poisonous delusions. The origin of the word virtue is the Latin “vir” meaning “man.” Strictly speaking, only men are capable of acting virtuously.
A small but growing number of warriors, including operators, are coming to power in the US. With the exception of disturbed, and apparently corrupt, individuals like Dan Crenshaw, they are part of the solution, for sure.
I do worry about the ultra-intensity, focus on sheer tenacity (over creativity and gifts) and narrowness of Special Operations selection and training. You are by far the most cultured of the Tier One operators I know. Without the “PhD” part of their character formation, patriotic warriors will be vulnerable to manipulation by advisors and bosses who do have that breadth of understanding—but lack the empirical wisdom and sense of perspective that can only be gained from familiarity with the ground of life and death.
Chris, there is a lot to unpack here. I have not read Fermor but I have to! I appreciate the recommendation.
I agree the "warrior-poet class must rise" but how this comes into being is a macro-level movement I am not sure I fully understand just yet. My mental energies are focused on the long term philosophical direction these essays are taking acute sniper shots at. There is an end goal that I am fleshing out.
When it comes to SOF training and selection, I believe there are few programs in the world that are better run. These programs select out, not in. No one understands who makes it through and the what-it-is-about-them that enables them to overcome. My point is that they are not selected for the PhD part of their nature, but for this unarticulated intangible, which is what I believe you were hinting at. It would be a fascinating to create a new program from scratch that attempts to do both - the combatant and the intellectual. How to build this, how to select out, how to mentor and mold and identify - that would be a dream come true.
You raise crucial questions and I am not sure how to respond, but they make excellent thinking material. I appreciate the comment.
Hi Sam, your comments are very interesting. JD Vance almost certainly would not have made selection as a Tier One operator, and yet he is a good example of a modern American who approximates the best leadership qualities of Classical Greece, and his military experience is an important aspect of his transformation.
I think the issue—a point you raise in your article—is that warrior-PhDs who are morally and physically courageous and can think for themselves at a high level are dangerous to the State.
I read the OSS article, and of the luminaries only Donovan and Colby deserve admiration and gratitude from American citizens; Dulles and Helms betrayed the high trust conferred on them. They both, in their different ways, worked quite well with the execrable LBJ.
A brilliant warrior class, led by an inspirational and principled political class drawn at least partly from their ranks, would be a great strength to a State—and by the same token, would be the greatest possible threat to a political class of the kind of corrupt parasites who have been our overlords during the Clinton-Bush-Obama-Biden administrations.
The Athenian polis, the Roman Republic and the American Republic were founded by hardy, small-holder landowners and citizen soldiers who fought with their neighbors against common enemies, foreign and domestic. The type of man you’ve described is the best of that model and produced distinguished individuals: Aeschylus, Socrates, Cincinnatus, Scipio, Washington.
Spent the morning re-reading through some old books on the topic. Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs (Patrick O’Donnell), and Wild Bill Donovan (Douglas Waller) are great, but one of my favorites is The Very Best Men (Evan Thomas), about the former OSS operatives-turned-Wall Street bankers and lawyers who went on to create the CIA. Donovan’s OSS culture lived on in this group who sought out a mix of intelligence, boldness, and ruggedness. Intellects who could also “Gutter Fight.” A great book if you’re ever wanting more on the topic.
I try to avoid bars, but have a PhD, black belts in Jiu Jitsu, Jeet Kune Do and have won many fights. I tested "intellectual beliefs with anthropological truths" in my book Facing Death in Cambodia. Although satisfying, these are not easy paths to follow. The various state establishments fear the "Jedburgh souls" more than anything else.
Re: The fight in Spain. This opening round of the path to WWII is a good reference point for understanding what is happening now. A young Brit in his mid 20s went to Spain in 1937 to volunteer to fight fascism and his descriptions of the mood and disconnections with reality are clearly expressed in a very well written but little publicized book published in 1938. Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell.
He realized that what he was experiencing was not "just another day" in the life of "civilzed" humanity. His perception of "meaning" in our lives expanded exponentially from that point resulting in his subsequent critical literary contributions pointing out the direction that human society had turned.
What he saw was the beginning of an era that would span the rest of his life and his family and friends and his children's children's children. It was not disguised as just another day. As I said:
Are you pretending that today is just another day ?
This is excellent, Robert. I have not read that particular book of his but I need to. I can see the influence in his later essays and fiction. Today is not merely another day. We are surrounding by rapidly moving novelty - each day is a gift, but also a window into human existence.
A lot of this resinates, Sam— more than I can justify for Comments. The (not so?) subtle duality of phds vs non intellectuals that society (and likely the State) promote/adhere to is threatening for the reasons you articulate. And I believe this has trickled down to simplistic thinking by the masses (Hollywood?)- you’re either a “nerd” or “jock” etc. In this sense the State has succeeded is having the populace do its dirty work.
I really like this,Sam! I like the balance depicted in your writing. The worst sort of man is the one who is unbalanced. One who is highly educated but morally and physically weak is a danger to himself and all who depend upon him. One who is a competent fighter but has so little knowledge that he cannot wisely choose his battles is a different threat. Though he may be useful in a “bar fight” would likely spend more time in jail than in service.
A “PHD that can win a bar fight” is a brilliant example of authentic, stable masculinity! A man who carnivorously devours knowledge, but is equally prepared and competent to engage in “violence of action” is always going to be a rare breed among men.
With your background, you understand this far better than I do. But your recognition and accurate definition of a “PHD” as advanced body of learning rather that a formally earned degree, gives me hope that being the kind of person you describe is possible for the rest of us to pursue.
Your writing is an inspiration to me. Thank you for capturing the essence of real leadership from the truly balanced man that some in our falsely “polite society” would never fully understand. It strikes a special cord with me that I greatly appreciate.
That is a perfect quote - thank you for sharing. Knox was pretty modest about his achievements. I think the introduction he wrote in Robert Fagles translation of the Iliad is one of the best pieces he wrote as he analyses the poetry and war and the interplay between each. It also helped me reframe the Iliad when I read it through again.
A man is not complete without an understanding of man and world, capacity for violence, and the spine to do what is right despite laws and orders to the contrary.
The last is perhaps the most missing in America today.
"assertive and carry a certain aura of violence; we might take a visceral pleasure in breaking rules, making quick decisions, acting without orders, holding our own counsel, and flowing, when needed, with the more lawless elements of society."
We're seeing some very vivid displays of this "character" on the public stage lately. Problem is, this phenotype is often not accompanied by a strong set of pro-social virtues. As with most character traits, it's a Goldilocks dilemma: rarely the "just right" balance of the elements. I do agree with your main point that many of us (including some of us with real PhD's! 😉) have insufficient amounts of the traits you're describing, and that puts us at a real competitive disadvantage.
Your point about goldilocks is crucial. For the sake of time and brevity I cannot make all the caveats that probably should be made, one of which is the pro-social virtues. I was hoping the context would speak for itself when it comes to moral correctness. You are spot on.
It is very late in my day and I am very tired but I must briefly comment because your opening ... "this world demanded of us two traits—knowledge and a will to action." ... I believe is the atom at the core of the plan and the purpose of the entirety of existance. If my education had not meandered through molecular genetics and evolutionary biology, physics and organic chemistry to then spend 40 years controlling consciousness and perception as an anesthesiologist I would never have arrived at this point. The human central nervous system is designed precisely for "knowledge and a will to action." Your essay elegantly affirms my personal daily dialog with my inner self that asks:
Are you pretending that today is just another day ?
Robert, I resonate strongly with this epic reply. You are striking at the heart of the matter. And that question "Are you pretending that today is just another day?" is one to live by. Thank you.
Why the majority of humanity, is sleeping walking? Drugged, damaged DNA? Again, the eternal question of nature or nurture or the best of both?
Barry, this is a question I try to answer in each of my essays. My hunch is our novel environment is the primary culprit. I can only assume it is both "damaged DNA" from the way we have harmed our food and also probably damaged minds from not living the sort of life Robert was talking about above. There is a world to explore here.
Okay… this is now my favorite post you’ve made yet… haha. I swear I’m being honest each time.
Haha I appreciate it, Kyle. There is something truly motivating about that era, and the Jedburghs in particular.
Not only do I enjoy your posts but I learn something new every time. Wasn’t hip to Captain Knox. Love everything about the concept of being an intelligent and intentional savage. Very cool story behind the Jedburghs
If you've read Fagles translations of Homer, you read Knox. He wrote the introductions to them and briefly touched on his war experience there. He also wrote a book of essays. The man is a legend. His experiences volunteering to fight in Spain are also profound.
I’ve read Homer but not looking at my bookshelf, it wasn’t Fagles
Appreciate you brother. Book ordered
Well Sam, you really stirred it up with this one! From the 30,000 ft. view to the 30 yd. arena you give some sharp historical context with the added flavor from your former career, AND give a spot on analysis of the State's position. You wrap it up with Epictetus' “unhindered”and some ‘sober sanity and bright eyed madness’ and send me off on my day with much the same inner questioning of myself as the doc above. Bravo,once again, and enjoy the day! Tim
I'm grateful you enjoyed it, Timothy. It was an easy subject to go all out on.
I like this very much. Two things I am unconsciously been striving towards for years, put into words. Very nice.
You are more than welcome, Lawrence.
You have described the quintessential ideal of manhood: Socrates was a combat veteran of Marathon, Plato a pankration champion, Aeschylus another Marathon combat veteran, David one of the greatest poets and a personally heroic battle captain.
Are you familiar with Patrick Leigh Fermor, who abducted the commanding German general on the island of Crete? They quoted classical texts to each other while on the run from pursuing German troops and Leigh Fermor is one of the great masters of English prose.
I worked in London during the late 1980s and almost daily the obituaries in The Daily Telegraph would be adorned by an article about a great, highly cultured and incredibly courageous hero of WWI or WWII. That generation was passing away then and is now gone. Importantly, the British nation gave birth to these exceptional men, and its society and institutions raised and empowered them. Look at “Great” Britain now. Look at Germany now. They are creepy repressive states full of depressed cowards. How to avoid this national fate?
The warrior-poet class must rise within a nation to power and leadership. Don’t let the greedy liars and thieves, the revolting pedophiles, and women get their soft hands on the levers of power. Their deceptive ideals, pseudo-values, and predatory empathy are poisonous delusions. The origin of the word virtue is the Latin “vir” meaning “man.” Strictly speaking, only men are capable of acting virtuously.
A small but growing number of warriors, including operators, are coming to power in the US. With the exception of disturbed, and apparently corrupt, individuals like Dan Crenshaw, they are part of the solution, for sure.
I do worry about the ultra-intensity, focus on sheer tenacity (over creativity and gifts) and narrowness of Special Operations selection and training. You are by far the most cultured of the Tier One operators I know. Without the “PhD” part of their character formation, patriotic warriors will be vulnerable to manipulation by advisors and bosses who do have that breadth of understanding—but lack the empirical wisdom and sense of perspective that can only be gained from familiarity with the ground of life and death.
I’d be interested in your thoughts about this.
Chris, there is a lot to unpack here. I have not read Fermor but I have to! I appreciate the recommendation.
I agree the "warrior-poet class must rise" but how this comes into being is a macro-level movement I am not sure I fully understand just yet. My mental energies are focused on the long term philosophical direction these essays are taking acute sniper shots at. There is an end goal that I am fleshing out.
When it comes to SOF training and selection, I believe there are few programs in the world that are better run. These programs select out, not in. No one understands who makes it through and the what-it-is-about-them that enables them to overcome. My point is that they are not selected for the PhD part of their nature, but for this unarticulated intangible, which is what I believe you were hinting at. It would be a fascinating to create a new program from scratch that attempts to do both - the combatant and the intellectual. How to build this, how to select out, how to mentor and mold and identify - that would be a dream come true.
You raise crucial questions and I am not sure how to respond, but they make excellent thinking material. I appreciate the comment.
Hi Sam, your comments are very interesting. JD Vance almost certainly would not have made selection as a Tier One operator, and yet he is a good example of a modern American who approximates the best leadership qualities of Classical Greece, and his military experience is an important aspect of his transformation.
I think the issue—a point you raise in your article—is that warrior-PhDs who are morally and physically courageous and can think for themselves at a high level are dangerous to the State.
I read the OSS article, and of the luminaries only Donovan and Colby deserve admiration and gratitude from American citizens; Dulles and Helms betrayed the high trust conferred on them. They both, in their different ways, worked quite well with the execrable LBJ.
A brilliant warrior class, led by an inspirational and principled political class drawn at least partly from their ranks, would be a great strength to a State—and by the same token, would be the greatest possible threat to a political class of the kind of corrupt parasites who have been our overlords during the Clinton-Bush-Obama-Biden administrations.
The Athenian polis, the Roman Republic and the American Republic were founded by hardy, small-holder landowners and citizen soldiers who fought with their neighbors against common enemies, foreign and domestic. The type of man you’ve described is the best of that model and produced distinguished individuals: Aeschylus, Socrates, Cincinnatus, Scipio, Washington.
We’re living in historic times.
To the strong.
Loved this one, Sam!
Spent the morning re-reading through some old books on the topic. Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs (Patrick O’Donnell), and Wild Bill Donovan (Douglas Waller) are great, but one of my favorites is The Very Best Men (Evan Thomas), about the former OSS operatives-turned-Wall Street bankers and lawyers who went on to create the CIA. Donovan’s OSS culture lived on in this group who sought out a mix of intelligence, boldness, and ruggedness. Intellects who could also “Gutter Fight.” A great book if you’re ever wanting more on the topic.
Thanks for the great essay!
Some epic books, a few of which I have fortunately read. Rock on, Scott, I appreciate it.
I try to avoid bars, but have a PhD, black belts in Jiu Jitsu, Jeet Kune Do and have won many fights. I tested "intellectual beliefs with anthropological truths" in my book Facing Death in Cambodia. Although satisfying, these are not easy paths to follow. The various state establishments fear the "Jedburgh souls" more than anything else.
It is a good fight. Thank you, Peter.
Commenting on this for reach, but loved it brother!
Thank you Enda!
Re: The fight in Spain. This opening round of the path to WWII is a good reference point for understanding what is happening now. A young Brit in his mid 20s went to Spain in 1937 to volunteer to fight fascism and his descriptions of the mood and disconnections with reality are clearly expressed in a very well written but little publicized book published in 1938. Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell.
He realized that what he was experiencing was not "just another day" in the life of "civilzed" humanity. His perception of "meaning" in our lives expanded exponentially from that point resulting in his subsequent critical literary contributions pointing out the direction that human society had turned.
What he saw was the beginning of an era that would span the rest of his life and his family and friends and his children's children's children. It was not disguised as just another day. As I said:
Are you pretending that today is just another day ?
This is excellent, Robert. I have not read that particular book of his but I need to. I can see the influence in his later essays and fiction. Today is not merely another day. We are surrounding by rapidly moving novelty - each day is a gift, but also a window into human existence.
Total banger. Likely one of my favorite opening essay lines of 2025.
Great work man.
“PhD who can win a bar fight” is a great salient hook for young (and not-so young) men looking for an archetype to aspire to.
Really appreciate it, Daniel. I'm stoked you enjoyed it.
A lot of this resinates, Sam— more than I can justify for Comments. The (not so?) subtle duality of phds vs non intellectuals that society (and likely the State) promote/adhere to is threatening for the reasons you articulate. And I believe this has trickled down to simplistic thinking by the masses (Hollywood?)- you’re either a “nerd” or “jock” etc. In this sense the State has succeeded is having the populace do its dirty work.
Well said Jesse, I appreciate the comment!
I really like this,Sam! I like the balance depicted in your writing. The worst sort of man is the one who is unbalanced. One who is highly educated but morally and physically weak is a danger to himself and all who depend upon him. One who is a competent fighter but has so little knowledge that he cannot wisely choose his battles is a different threat. Though he may be useful in a “bar fight” would likely spend more time in jail than in service.
A “PHD that can win a bar fight” is a brilliant example of authentic, stable masculinity! A man who carnivorously devours knowledge, but is equally prepared and competent to engage in “violence of action” is always going to be a rare breed among men.
With your background, you understand this far better than I do. But your recognition and accurate definition of a “PHD” as advanced body of learning rather that a formally earned degree, gives me hope that being the kind of person you describe is possible for the rest of us to pursue.
Your writing is an inspiration to me. Thank you for capturing the essence of real leadership from the truly balanced man that some in our falsely “polite society” would never fully understand. It strikes a special cord with me that I greatly appreciate.
Lee, thank you for your thoughts on this balance. I'm grateful it resonated so strongly.
I’ve had this Thucydides quote on my office door for years:
“The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools”.
I used to imagine James Bond, then Jim Mattis. Now the Jedburghs!
Any book recommendations?
That is a perfect quote - thank you for sharing. Knox was pretty modest about his achievements. I think the introduction he wrote in Robert Fagles translation of the Iliad is one of the best pieces he wrote as he analyses the poetry and war and the interplay between each. It also helped me reframe the Iliad when I read it through again.
A man is not complete without an understanding of man and world, capacity for violence, and the spine to do what is right despite laws and orders to the contrary.
The last is perhaps the most missing in America today.
It is a very nuanced line to walk. Thank you for the comment.
"assertive and carry a certain aura of violence; we might take a visceral pleasure in breaking rules, making quick decisions, acting without orders, holding our own counsel, and flowing, when needed, with the more lawless elements of society."
We're seeing some very vivid displays of this "character" on the public stage lately. Problem is, this phenotype is often not accompanied by a strong set of pro-social virtues. As with most character traits, it's a Goldilocks dilemma: rarely the "just right" balance of the elements. I do agree with your main point that many of us (including some of us with real PhD's! 😉) have insufficient amounts of the traits you're describing, and that puts us at a real competitive disadvantage.
Great writing as always Sam! 👏
Your point about goldilocks is crucial. For the sake of time and brevity I cannot make all the caveats that probably should be made, one of which is the pro-social virtues. I was hoping the context would speak for itself when it comes to moral correctness. You are spot on.
I know you fully get the virtues component Sam. I just wanted to reinforce that theme a bit!
All good - it is more important than ever.