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Inspiration from Admiral Stockdale

Tim Knight from Slope of Hope's picture




 

Originally published on Slope of Hope last month, I thought it was worth bringing over here to ZH....

If you're like most Americans, you hadn't heard of James Stockdale until he showed up for the 1992 Vice Presidential debates and made this famous line:

Who am I? Why am I here? (video can be seen here)

Afterwards, he became the butt of jokes and was basically portrayed as a dottering old man. He and Ross Perot captured nearly 20% of the vote, in spite of being a third party ticket, and the nation soon stopped talking about Admiral Stockdale.

0110-stockdaleI hadn't thought of him for years, but last night I happened to trip across an article about the man, and I was amazed. He suffered through unspeakable horrors as a prisoner of war and, in all that time, he showed strength, resolve, and character that I imagine 99.9999% of the population lack. The guy had brass balls, pure and simple, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his courage.

Read on:

Stockdale was held as a prisoner of war in the Hoa Lo prison for the next seven years. Locked in leg irons in a bath stall, he was routinely tortured and beaten. When told by his captors that he was to be paraded in public, Stockdale slit his scalp with a razor to purposely disfigure himself so that his captors could not use him as propaganda. When they covered his head with a hat, he beat himself with a stool until his face was swollen beyond recognition. When Stockdale was discovered with information that could implicate his friends' "black activities", he slit his wrists so they could not torture him into confession.

One can only imagine fellow VP-debate-participant Dan Quayle's behavior in such a circumstance. Once they mussed his hair, it would probably be all over. To continue:

Stockdale was part of a group of about eleven prisoners known as the "Alcatraz Gang": George Thomas Coker, George McKnight, Jeremiah Denton, Harry Jenkins, Sam Johnson, James Mulligan, Howard Rutledge, Robert Shumaker, Ronald Storz and Nels Tanner; which was separated from other captives and placed in solitary confinement for their leadership in resisting their captors. "Alcatraz" was a special facility in a courtyard behind the North Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense, located about one mile away from Hoa Lo Prison. In Alcatraz, each of the eleven men were kept in solitary confinement in cells measuring 3 feet by 9 feet with a light bulb which was kept on around the clock. The men were locked in leg irons each night

What amazed me the most is what Stockdale said in reflection:

"I never lost faith in the end of the story, I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade."

Now here's the important part......when asked about who died during captivity, he replied:

"Oh, that's easy, the optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, 'We're going to be out by Christmas.' And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they'd say, 'We're going to be out by Easter.' And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart."

And then, finally, the most important part of all, which you might want to read ten times to yourself:

"This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be."

I hope the departed Admiral will forgive me for using his words as an inspiration for traders - - or anyone undergoing a challenge - - but these are some of the most inspiring words I've ever read.

Thank you, Admiral Stockdale, for everything you did. I promise that those old jokes tossed around in the 1990s about you are no longer funny anymore. You were a great man.

Oh, and just to add icing to the cake. His full name, honest to God, was James Bond Stockdale.

What a bad-ass.

 

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Mon, 02/20/2012 - 18:43 | 2178882 Dapper Dan
Dapper Dan's picture

It's odd that the media made Stockdale the butt of so many jokes about his intelligence,

http://media.hoover.org/sites/default/files/documents/StockdaleCourage.pdf

He was a man of very high intellect, philosopher status in my book, read his work posted below, you might agree.

COURAGE UNDER FIRE:

Testing EpictetusÕs

Doctrines in a Laboratory

Of Human Behavior

James Bond St o c k d a l e

Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace

Stanford University

1993

I was going to paste something but saw this.

All rights re s e rved. No part of this publication may he re p roduced, store d

In a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, elect

ronic, mechanical, photocopying, re c o rding, or otherwise, without written

Permission of the publisher.

First printing, 1993

 

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 18:06 | 2178740 QuantumCat
QuantumCat's picture

I knew his story when he was running for office.  The popular ridicule of man who represented everything honorable woke me up to the realization that society was becoming ugly, one content to feast on bread and watch circuses paid for by others, and electing politicians to make it possible.  We've ventured down a long load to that place Ben Franklin knew we would come...

"In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a general Government necessary for us, and there is no form of Government but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered, and believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other." 

Further he remarked,"But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting Sun.” 

Half time in America?  I don't think so... it's getting kind of dark out there. 

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:56 | 2178699 Freegolder
Freegolder's picture

'I hope the departed Admiral will forgive me for using his words as an inspiration for traders'

He'd probably forgive you, whilst thinking 'how can this guy even think about using my experiences to beef up some guys sat gambling on stocks at a PC'.

This article is a sad indictment of all that is wrong with the US: day traders mentally masturbating to thoughts of true heroism.

 

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:46 | 2178664 Tucson Tom
Tucson Tom's picture

Current potus couldn`t walk in his shadow!

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:45 | 2178659 Tucson Tom
Tucson Tom's picture

current potus couldn`t walk in his shadow!

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 18:32 | 2178844 gibbs
gibbs's picture

current potus doesn't cast a shadow.

Tue, 02/21/2012 - 03:03 | 2180166 BorisTheBlade
BorisTheBlade's picture

He is a shadow of somebody else himself.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:43 | 2178655 Shibumi2
Shibumi2's picture

Americans don't deserve a leader like Stockdale.

 

A great leader needs troops who will follow him into battle. This society isn't tough enough to do what it takes to win and win big.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 22:22 | 2179512 I am a Man I am...
I am a Man I am Forty's picture

and what are we winning again?

Tue, 02/21/2012 - 01:05 | 2180049 hidingfromhelis
hidingfromhelis's picture

(Winning) The Future...catchy little acronym, isn't it?

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 20:51 | 2179276 bigkahuna
bigkahuna's picture

LOL! This "society" is led by perverts and thugs.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:38 | 2178636 MachoMan
MachoMan's picture

You should probably revisit him, he's probably dying of a broken heart watching his country die...  the place he died every day to come back to...  from the ailments/conditions he ultimately helped create and/or build.

 

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:59 | 2178713 hardcleareye
hardcleareye's picture

I doubt it,

"...the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be."

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 19:44 | 2179096 MachoMan
MachoMan's picture

He's not a robot...  he probably wets the bed.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:58 | 2178711 sof_hannibal
sof_hannibal's picture

But see thats the whole point; Admiral Stockdale wouldnt give a fuck at the things beyond his power to control. His faith isnt or wasnt in America, his faith was in survival, destiny, and fate; and not being a pussy

"... It is hard to combine and unite these two qualities, the carefulness of one who is affected by circumstances, and the intrepidity of one who heeds them not. But it is not impossible: else were happiness also impossible. We should act as we do in seafaring: “What can I do?”—Choose the master, the crew, the day, the opportunity. Then comes a sudden storm. What matters it to me? my part has been fully done. The matter is in the hands of another—the Master of the ship. The ship is foundering. What then have I to do? I do the only thing that remains to me—to be drowned without fear, without a cry, without upbraiding God, but knowing that what has been born must likewise perish. For I am not Eternity, but a human being—a part of the whole, as an hour is part of the day. I must come like the hour, and like the hour must pass!" - Epictetus

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 21:37 | 2179382 fnord88
fnord88's picture

fucking awesome quote, and one of the reason I love poker. Because like life, you can do all the planning, all the preperation, have all the odds in your favour, but at some point, you have to make a leap of faith, and let the cards fall as they may. And the trick with life and with poker, is to stop caring about the final result, and be able to happy saying; "I played the hand the best I could, fate decided the rest"

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 18:16 | 2178611 AN0NYM0US
AN0NYM0US's picture

but didn't Stockdale also decry the antiwar protests  arguing that they actually encouraged the North to dig in and fight harder thus prolonging the war? 

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 19:23 | 2179004 Moe Howard
Moe Howard's picture

Are you claiming the antiwar protests did not encourage the North? They most certainly did. That is a fact.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 23:17 | 2179677 AN0NYM0US
AN0NYM0US's picture

slap to your head numb nuts

I am challenging the logic that would silence protest.free speech for pragmatic reason

 

 

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:32 | 2178601 hivekiller
hivekiller's picture

Perot was forced out of the election by Bush. Told that if he didn't get out, he or members of his family would be killed.

Tue, 02/21/2012 - 01:29 | 2180091 SAT 800
SAT 800's picture

Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. JFK certainly didn't die of natural causes.

Tue, 02/21/2012 - 03:53 | 2180204 12ToothAssassin
12ToothAssassin's picture

Of course it was natural. When your head is shot in two, naturally youre gonna die.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 19:55 | 2179140 4horse
4horse's picture

source . . .

something totally deranged must have occurred @his daughter, wedding . . . what

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:26 | 2178577 Police Commissi...
Police Commissioner Jacobs's picture

May be, but Reagan and Bush I really teed it up for him.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:20 | 2178555 stormsailor
stormsailor's picture

admiral stockdale was president of my alma mata. the citadel for a couple of years.  one of the most brilliant people i've ever met.  he made general seignious look dull.

 

when he appeared in public he was very shy, my wife still talks about his public appearance as vp running mate.  i told her that if he were ever to become president he would be the best we ever had.

Wed, 02/22/2012 - 18:04 | 2186561 Chicken_Little
Chicken_Little's picture

Your comments about him make you very credible. If you learn from him then all of us will benefit.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:56 | 2178700 schoolsout
schoolsout's picture

What class were you?  My father is class of '70

Owner of the dealership here is class of '40 (I think it's 40, may be '39)

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 18:15 | 2178773 stormsailor
stormsailor's picture

CLASS OF 81.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 19:06 | 2178961 schoolsout
schoolsout's picture

Gotcha

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:28 | 2178585 sof_hannibal
sof_hannibal's picture

...Practise then from the start to say to every harsh impression, "You are an impression, and not at all the thing you appear to be." Then examine it and test it by these rules you have, and firstly, and chiefly, by this: whether the impression has to do with the things that are up to us, or those that are not; and if it has to do with the things that are NOT up to
us, be ready to reply, "It is nothing to me..."

-Epictetus; classic stoicism, classic ADM Stockdale. The world needs a good fucking dose of stoicism right now...

"Nothing in the affairs of men is worthy of great anxiety." -Plato.

Tue, 02/21/2012 - 01:31 | 2180096 SAT 800
SAT 800's picture

Or, as they used to say on the street; "don't sweat the small shit, and it's all small shit". Marcus Aurelius, also; very worthwhile reading.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:20 | 2178554 uno
uno's picture

I was lucky enough to vote for him.  Perot was right back then; with Clinton came the Banker overthrow.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:13 | 2178527 Seer
Seer's picture

Amazing how we continue to be duped into ridiculing the butts of a joke rather than the butts themselves...

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:13 | 2178521 Rattling Bones
Rattling Bones's picture

 Perot in 2012

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 18:23 | 2178807 Absinthe Minded
Absinthe Minded's picture

Best thing you can do is send Dr. Paul a .999 silver Liberty round. Maybe put a note with it, "From your friends at Zero Hedge." If we could get a whole bunch of us to do it that would be awesome.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 23:33 | 2179750 Ayr Rand
Ayr Rand's picture

Better yet, how about a Zero Hedge silver round? Tyler's face on the front, ZH logo on the back. 

How about it, Tyler?

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 18:02 | 2178723 hardcleareye
hardcleareye's picture

I voted for Perot and would do so today.  Where the hell is the old buzzard?

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:52 | 2178680 Seer
Seer's picture

Huh?

Here's how this great "small govt" guy became successful (http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Electronic_Data_Systems_Corp.aspx):

The passage of Medicare legislation in 1965 gave EDS the opportunity to enter another lucrative market. Government agencies involved were about to take on a new mountain of paperwork. EDS organized Medicare and Medicaid claims processing systems in many states. By 1968, Medicare and Medicaid contracts provided about 25 percent of EDS revenues, and, by 1977, healthcare claims processing accounted for nearly 40 percent of EDSs sales.

Biting the hand that fed you...

Tue, 02/21/2012 - 03:35 | 2180193 GovtMediaLiars
GovtMediaLiars's picture

Oh no!

An already established and successful company stooped to working for the violent and parasitic federal government. Doing the job more efficiently and "saving" taxpayers money (but not really as it will just be spent elsewhere by an insatiable govt). What's your gripe?

I'm no fan of working for the government but we live in the world we live in, not the one we wish to live in. He and his company produced wealth on balance. I can't say the same for my government, on the other hand.

Tue, 02/21/2012 - 00:40 | 2179978 NidStyles
NidStyles's picture

That's the problem, you are measuring another person's ethical choices with morality.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:34 | 2178615 sof_hannibal
sof_hannibal's picture

"...They can design, engineer, and build the best products in the world. My question is: Why haven't we unleashed their potential? The answer is: the General Motors system. It's like a blanket of fog that keeps these people from doing what they know needs to be done. I come from an environment where, if you see a snake, you kill it. At GM, if you see a snake, the first thing you do is go hire a consultant on snakes. Then you get a committee on snakes, and then you discuss it for a couple of years. The most likely course of action is -- nothing. You figure, the snake hasn't bitten anybody yet, so you just let him crawl around on the factory floor. We need to build an environment where the first guy who sees the snake kills it..."

Best Ross Perot quote ever, and aside from America just shipping more jobs to China, it pretty much summarizes where the USA is at mentally

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 22:52 | 2179585 Boiling Frogs
Boiling Frogs's picture

Couldn't help but go back and reread that quote using a Dana Carvey voice. 

I was a sophmore in college in '92. I volunteered for his campaign and my first vote ever cast was for Mr. Perot. 

Several years later I saw him in Dallas. I chased him down about 50 yrds just to shake his hand and tell him thanks for what he tried to do for our country. 

I feel the same way about Ron Paul. Ironically after I write-in for Mr. Paul this time, I'll likely not vote again. 

Tue, 02/21/2012 - 00:52 | 2180013 i_fly_me
i_fly_me's picture

Sure you will, or at least you better.  Your mayoral election will still matter as will that for the local sheriff, judges, county commissioners, etc.  The local elections are becoming the important ones.  When these national idiots finally have it blow up in their faces, it won't be tyranny we are left with (any more), it will be impotence.  They will be broke and won't be able to project power at all.  It will be very important to you then who your local leaders are.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:08 | 2178493 blunderdog
blunderdog's picture

The primary reason there's no political hope in the USA is because you've got zero chance of success in a national election if you can't look good on the teevee.

People who look good on the teevee, for the most part, are shallow superficial types with little real-world experience in anything other than public speaking.

If Nixon had beaten Kennedy, we may well have taken a pass on that whole Vietnam thing. 

Oh well.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 17:31 | 2178594 enclaved134
enclaved134's picture

One of the reasons Kennedy most likely was assassinated was that he intended to get out of Vietnam. The other was he planned to change the monetary system.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 21:23 | 2179349 el Gallinazo
el Gallinazo's picture

Two nights later, on August 4, 1964, Stockdale was overhead during the second reported attack in the Tonkin Gulf. However, unlike the first event, which was an actual sea battle, no Vietnamese forces were believed to have been involved in the second engagement. In the early 1990s, he recounted: "[I] had the best seat in the house to watch that event, and our destroyers were just shooting at phantom targets—there were no PT boats there.... There was nothing there but black water and American fire power." Stockdale said his superiors ordered him to keep quiet about this. He later said that while in captivity, he was concerned that he would be forced to reveal this secret about the Vietnam War.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stockdale

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 20:13 | 2179196 WolfePaq
WolfePaq's picture

Yes- he was going to end the fed...

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 22:48 | 2179575 BandGap
BandGap's picture

The United States printed it's own money under Kennedy, along with the Fegeral Reserve. Kennedy actually started the process to do away with the Fed in that both entities printed money. Imagine that, the United States printing it's own money.

Kennedy also wanted to back this currency with gold and silver. Silver coins were phased out shortly after his murder, in broad daylight in Dallas. I watch cold cases get solved with less evidence than the murder of a US President.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 18:41 | 2178877 navy62802
navy62802's picture

I had no idea he tried to change the monetary system.

Tue, 02/21/2012 - 01:39 | 2180103 SAT 800
SAT 800's picture

Look it up; please. You need to know this. Research it. He also is quoted very authoritatively as telling his brother, Robert, the attorney general, that he was going to tear the CIA to pieces and cast the pieces to the wind. You had to stand in line to get a place in the group of utterly determined and utterly murderous men who wanted him dead. It was 1963; and a second term was simply un-acceptable. The BS was washed over the public on TV, and that was the beginning of NOW. Shitville.

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