Wirecutter sent this picture to me, circa 1860-1880-ish.
Five men. Five serious men who lived the ways of Death daily.
I wonder what the outcome might be if you dropped those five men in the middle of, say, 25 equally armed men today. I really don't need to wonder. I already know the outcome.
People today like to symbolically invoke images of the sheepdog to describe themselves, or even the wolf.
Some men don't play such games. They are hard, practiced, experienced, men of Death. They don't need labels or acronyms to enhance their Ego. They know what they can do, and they weren't the type of men who needed affirmation by third parties.
Such men live today, quietly under the radar. You can find some of them in some of America's elite fighting units. You can find some running in gangs, kids who already have the 1,000 yard stare. Every once in a while you just "get a sense" as you pass a man or woman during your day that you have just passed someone different. And if you know where to look, and to whom to talk, you can find a few such men who trace their lineage and teachings directly to Takeda and other names - names that mean nothing to Americans.
The point is simple: If you plan for a war, you'd better plan for the real thing.
Other people will. Other people are, right now.
If you get your experience from Xbox and Call of Duty...
'nuff said.
Thank you, Wirecutter.
Kerodin
III
