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There's a great book called War by Sebastian Junger, the author of the perfect storm. It follows soldiers fighting in the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan.
by jasonshen 15y ago
There's a great book called War by Sebastian Junger, the author of the perfect storm. It follows soldiers fighting in the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan.
I wrote a post quoting some of my favorite sections but the one I remember most is this:
These hillsides of loose shale and holly trees are where the men feel not most _alive_ - that you can get skydiving - but most utilized. The most necessary. The most clear and certain and purposeful. If young men could get that feeling at home, no one would ever want to go to war again, but they can't.
- thisrod 15y agoI find the contrast with alpinism very interesting. Instead of an enemy trying to kill you, it's a combination of nature and your own ambition. Ambition is an essential part of it, because mountains are harmless if you stay away from them. Enemies come after you. Some people (and companies and countries) need enemies to get that sense of clarity and purpose. Maybe that's because they don't take their own goals seriously enough. It would be good if they could learn, because wars, competitive alpinism, and recklessly agressive business are so destructive.