Courage Is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave

Conversely, the greatest moments in human history all share one thing—whether it’s landing on the moon or civil rights, the final stand at Thermopylae or the art of the Renaissance: The bravery of ordinary men and women. So unnerved by a danger with which he was unfamiliar, it had never occurred to him to question the racing of his heart or the extrapolations of his mind. To borrow a phrase from the British general Sir Douglas Haig, at Mattis’s core is the trait that all great soldiers must have: “A sincere desire to engage the enemy.” He expects nothing less from his troops. This one, like any of the others, could have easily been the one that finally broke his heart and spirit.