Contemplation Corner: “The actions of Napoleon and Alexander . . .”

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Saturdays at 10:00am
July 26 through August 9
Marcellus United Methodist Church, 197 W. Main
Open to all who are looking for “a quiet, serene beautiful sanctuary to spend time with God”
For more information, email Pastor Donnie at pastordonnieb@outlook.com

“The actions of Napoleon and Alexander, on whose words the event seemed to hang, were as little voluntary as the actions of any soldier who was drawn into the campaign by lot or by conscription. This could not be otherwise, for in order that the will of Napoleon and Alexander (on whom the event seemed to depend) should be carried out, the concurrence of innumerable circumstances was needed without any one of which the event could not have taken place. It was necessary that millions of men in whose hands lay the real power- the soldiers who fired, or transported provisions and guns should consent to carry out the will of these weak individuals, and should have been induced to do so by an infinite number of diverse and complex causes.”
– Leo Tolstoy – War and Peace

by Pastor Donnie Brooks
Marcellus United Methodist Church
pastordonnieb@outlook.com

   A big part of the famous (and also, due to its length and the requirements of attention spans far greater than we foster in today’s world, infamous) text is dedicated to reflecting on the idea that it is not the “great individuals” and their decisions that are the driving force of history…but the “millions” who execute the wishes of those at the top. It’s not the wisdom or lack-there-of, it’s not the virtuosity, or lack there-of, of a leader, but rather those characteristics who choose to be led by him or her that is truly in control. That is, the great shape of history is made not by the leaders we praise or defame, glory or despise, but the people who follow them.

   Napolean and Alexander, famous “heroes” of strategy, of conquest, of taking over the world with brilliance and might, are those we might praise and honor and admire (or their opposites). But the contingencies of history, of whether people follow or don’t follow, whether people resist or don’t resist, and all that goes into the general fickle nature of fortune in life, think otherwise. A present example, then, we might indicate is regarding the highly controversial executive orders of President Trump (in his previous and current reigns). The informed are often quite enflamed by the worrisome and pseudo-fascist tendencies that comprise a lot of the executive decisions. Those that oppose him might attribute too much power to his whims and fancies (ones that tend to be pretty chaotic as the previous administration and his revolving door cabinet would attest). Those that support him might do the same for what they admire (not too different from how he admires Putin or Xi, one might add). What we must realize, however, is that it isn’t his orders or his view points (or what’s under their facades) that matters as much as the people who either support or resist them.

   This was as for Napolean. For Alexander. For the Bolsheviks. For Mussolini. For Stalin.  For Hitler. For Mao Zedong. For Castro. For Noriega. For Amin. For Gaddafi. For Trujillo. For Mugabe. For Khamenei. For Putin. For any “mighty” “strongman” ruler in the 20th or 21st century, it is what the people do or don’t do, resist or don’t resist, that shapes history.

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