Weakened by Power.
And so it was a fundamental change culturally. Because before that the aristocracy of JSOC had been measured by their machismo or their strength. And very quickly your value was largely determined by your willingness and ability to think through the problem. We had to become the smart guys.
A sign of intelligence is the ability to recognise the better argument than your own.
You can’t recognise the superior argument to yours, if you don’t know what your argument is. An argument requires two parties. Argument helps refine our position.
Positional power, if routinely deployed, removes the need to think. It thus weakens the ability to think, and thus to argue. Decisions are made based on positional power, which inevitably sows seeds of discontent, conflict, complaint, and open challenge.
Threats loom large and are defended with positional power. Internally and externally.
With every response from strength, we grow, (both individually and organisationally) intellectually and morally weaker. Requiring more positional power to be deployed to quell disquiet.
Inevitably, a threat materialises from a higher power. A better argument.
Collapse.
This is the story of empires. Of organisations. Of people.
Weakened by power.