Do most men have a secret death wish?

Some become excited and their blood flows hot when confronted by danger, they can’t wait for the fight, that moment of engagement when their is action, danger, excitement etc. they chomp at the bit for it, crave it…. Sometimes risk their lives for it.

Others not so much…. Some willingly meet the challenge, others meet it but would prefer not to and still others will walk away. Which are you?

 

Yes… for example; Julius Caesar was warned about senators plotting to kill him, his wife warned him not to meet with them that day, another stopped him in the street and warned him (beware the ides of March quote) and the night before Caesar questioned his colleagues about the best way to die… a swift one was his answer. All that aside, he took the meeting and was slaughtered. So then, it begs the question, why did Julius Caesar go to the meeting ?

I have my own conclusions, what are yours?

 

I don’t see him as that… see he was sick in some physical way and he knew it. He had two great ambitions, 1) reform Rome ( it had gotten very corrupt) He brought back many of the initiatives of the brothers Grachii, fed the poor and did much to make Roman life better for the citizenry.

2) make the Roman world dominant via Pax Romana.

If I had the achievements he had in conquest and the love of his military and his Roman citizens, I would have thought long and hard if I had the strength for being the dominant politician (ruler) for Rome. Maybe I’d be walking to that meeting thinking I may get killed today but they wouldn’t dare… look what I’m doing for them.

 

As a side note to the OP, I learned this a long time ago, in a far away land; the instructions for successful leadership.

Develop superior self esteem, hold yourself up in high esteem because if you do not, others will have no esteem for you… they will doubt you and will hesitate, question you or be mutinous. You must first convince yourself that you are above all others. Tolerant men are not to be trusted because sometimes they doubt themselves.


what I am questioning though is the noticed excitement some people have in the presence of danger… evidenced by the gleam in the eye, the excitement rush that comes to some in the presence of danger. Some actually run toward it as apposed to being cautious. I personally am very cautious. Momma always told me to know exactly what I was doing vs rushing in… but that’s me. Others get jazzed by the presence of danger. Some run from danger and that’s OK too, providing you have assessed the situation as overwhelming. My example of Julius Caesar (see above) is he was a gambler with his life… he assessed the dangers of the meeting with the Senate that day March 15th and decided to throw caution to the wind and payed the price.

2nd side note, I would have tried to stop him. Had he lived Caesar would have accomplished much good for civilization.

 

Like Pickets Charge… now there was a blunder of blunders.

 

We’re they not sacrificing themselves fighting the opposite side with the unfair advantage?

General Lee was told by his field commander that Pickets Charge would result in a slaughter… so what was his motivation? After all, he wasn’t personally running up a hill in a hail of fire! Lee never allowed himself to calculate the loss.

 

That doesn’t get put into the history books I’ve read. I have some vested interests as my ancestor was the the Confederate President so wars and states conflicts are of particular interest to me. Can you recommend anything about the charge and mistimed fuses?

Truely though, that war should have had generals on both sides prepared to fight a modern war. The only exception I’m aware of was William T. Sherman and his tactics were more siege & scorched earth.