The Grace of Power & the Power of Grace
Victory without magnanimity is no victory at all.
“If you are ferocious in battle, remember to be magnanimous in victory.”
— Commander Tim Collins, 2003
Over recent days, we’ve seen emotions run high as varying segments of the public have had their attention on contests at the ballot box and on the baseball field. Observers chose a side and waited — sometimes into the wee hours — for victory for their side.
From the earliest age, we’re instructed in the moral pageantry of defeat. Don’t be a sore loser, the adults admonish, ushering us toward the handshake line as if toward confession. We are told to smile, to nod, to congratulate the opponent who has just humiliated us on the field or at the spelling bee.
The lesson, though seldom stated outright, is that civilization depends on the theater of grace.
