Pilgrim March

Last week Stanley McChrystal said some bad things about President Obama.  For most Americans, this isn’t a big deal, but for McChrystal it spelled the end of his job as commander of the Army’s operation in Afghanistan.  It’s hard to know why he said things like “Obama looked uncomfortable and intimidated by the roomful of military brass” and more in an interview with Rolling Stone.  An NPR commentator suggested that McChrystal did it to shift the blame of a poorly advancing war off of his shoulders.  McChrystal was pre-emptively protecting himself from the forthcoming criticism of the war in Afghanistan.  In essence, McChrystal was trying to secure his reputation by distancing himself from what he predicts will be a failure.

I’m not sure if this is accurate, but if it was it didn’t work.  When an Army general bad-mouths the commander-in-chief to protect his image, he does the opposite.  He just looks like a jerk.

David Petraeus made this object lesson all the clearer by providing a compelling counter-example.  As Obama is forced to fire McChrystal and appoint a replacement, he chooses David Patraeus who had been working above McChrystal as head of both the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars.  Taking McChrystal’s job then was essentially a demotion.  It would appear to be harmful to his public image.  He went from being in charge of two wars to just one, and conventionally wisdom would suggest that his position and his status decreased.

But what I find fascinating is that the opposite happened.  The American people have generally lauded his action and his public persona has swelled to heroic proportions.  He is seen as the self-sacrificing public servant who has stepped in to save the day.  In a phrase, “Sacrifice sells.”  When leaders swallow their pride and choose to sacrificially serve their community around them, they win tremendous favor.  McChrystal’s image-driven actions backfired and he has come out the other end looking bad.  Patraeus’ sacrificial service which on the surface appears to decrease his stature has had the opposite effect.  This is so obvious that it appears axiomatic to me.  It’s sort of like what Jesus said, “The greatest among you will be your servant.” (Mt. 23:11)