Very much like they way players perceive their coach, the way soldiers perceive their general is important. As we have seen throughout the literature we have studied, different leaders leads to different leadership styles, which all impose different perceptions upon soldiers. Agamemnon was seen as greedy, so he could not get his top soldiers to fight for him. Robert E. Lee was seen as too risky, so he couldn't get his top generals to agree with him.
To go along with the perception of leadership in war, one thing that conflicts Americans today is global perception of our military. Does our being in Iraq send a bad message about ourselves to other countries? Does water-boarding at Guantanamo Bay give America a ruthless perception? Perception has completely changed the way we use our military. It's why we abide by the Geneva Convention and get a U.N Sanction to go to war. It is why we call into question the ethics of winning. Is it worth winning if we lose all credibility in the process? Because the way we are seen may is what gives us credibility, we have had to adjust the way our military works. Torture is unethical to us, even if it can save lives.
If I could say all I was thinking about this, I would ramble on forever and lose an audience to read it, so that's why I'm cutting it off a little abruptly. To wrap things up, I decided that perception has a lot to do with the way a war works. How effective a leader can be, and the way in which armies operate. Mr. Nevelow once said in 9th grade Wellness that "perception is reality." To be honest, I never understood that quote until now, but I think it's fitting. Though the way others see us really isn't our problem, it creates realities that do affect us, making perception reality.
4 comments:
Mr. Nevelow's wise words, "perception is reality," is one of the fundamental facets of the Peer Assistance and Leadership program he sponsors. I have thought about that phrase in terms of leadership and also in terms of myself. The important thing in any situation is to understand that what you perceive to be true becomes the reality of your life. Going along with what you say at the end, the way others see us isn't our problem, and therefore, it should NOT affect us. For any person or country or leader that follows those three words, perception is important. In purely a political sense, it is probably better for us to perceive other countries as not liking the U.S.. We should recognize what we are doing wrong in spite of them. This way we can do something, hopefully, to change the way we act towards other countries.
It goes the same with leaders. Leaders must tell themselves that their men/women respect them because if they don't, then those men/women won't respect their leaders, and you have just lost the battle, my friend.
This is a really good post Paul. I like how you gave us a great example of the NFL coaches. I believe that the US is hated and loved, the same with every other country. With the leaders, Agamemnon and Lee were set in their ways and there was not changing them. But with the US, I think that our intentions are always in the right place, but the outcome might not always be the best. Taking Dresden for example, out intentions was to bomb them and allow the Russians to continue their offensive attack without the Germans building up their eastern defense. The outcome was the death of thousands of innocent people. So people could look at the negatives, but they must take in the positives too to really see the countries true colors.
Perception and image are key components in a war. America's military actions represent the integrity of the country. I don's see the justification in spreading democracy when we as a country torture suspected terrorists at GITMO. Obama has now called for the closing of GITMO and this is a step in the right direction of building back America's credibility and standing in the world view. America serves as an example for other nations of the world and we are held to higher expectations. It is our responsibility to keep a just and fair image in the world by acting accordingly.
I have never heard Mr. aNevelow quoted for any kind of paper or journal, but it seems to work here. I comepletely agree that perception is reality because that is all that we know. What we perceive is infact our reality. I remember in Nature and Uses of Language Ms. Woolley told us that everyone's world is different because everyone's perception of the world in different. I think that can be applied here as well.
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