Most of you have heard of the story of Pat Tillman, but I came across this brief editorial that put things into perspective so well that I wanted to share it with you.
Whether or not you agree with our foreign policy; whether or not he was the victim of friendly fire; whether or not you agree with his reasons for being where he was, this is an amazing story. It was particularly impressive to me in light of the recent thread about the high school basketball players passing up college and going directly to the pros to make millions. Here was just the opposite, a man who passed up the pros and the millions to make next to nothing. For me this man leaves a lasting impression of one who, in his own way had to respond to the terror that was a part of this world.
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DUTY AND DESTINY
There’s not much left to say about Pat Tillman that hasn’t already been expressed eloquently elsewhere. Tillman was the former NFL star who famously walked away from riches and celebrity to enlist in the U.S. Army Rangers after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He died in combat on April 22 in Afghanistan.
As you read this, weeks have passed since Tillman’s death, but his story still seizes the imagination. Scripted or novelized, it would strike many as implausible. Here was a young man who traded millions of dollars for a soldier’s meager stipend, who relinquished the Holy Grails of the good life to march into war’s hellish maw.
In this me-first, self-promotional age, the inexplicable had been made real. We were stunned that a man would actually do this. His death sparked a discomfiting collective survivor’s guilt. It was impossible to be confronted with Tillman’s supreme sacrifice without lapsing into bracing self-examination, faced with the inescapable question: How many of us would do the same?
Perhaps that is why the mournful elegies that saturated the media seemed inadequate in capturing the anguish and admiration that Tillman’s death provoked. Only the hope that this tragedy could father a generation of future Tillman’s consoled us.
We often use the terms athlete and warrior interchangeably, but rarely do these attributes belong pinned to the same chest. Tillman, an expert of the brutal arts of football, developed his physique to imbed running backs and wide receivers into the turf. But the impressive body he built had no defense against bullets and hate.
Tillman, the star athlete, the tremendous physical specimen, showed us the highest standards of duty and sacrifice as a soldier. He also displayed the breadth of our autonomy, the grip we have on our own destiny if courage and character are developed along with our muscles. From him we learn that it’s not just the body you build, it’s what you do with it.
Jim Schmaltz
Editor in Chief
(Physical Magazine)
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I welcome your comments, but please, no political rants. I think Mr. Tillman deserves that much.
Have a great week, gentlemen.
In Fitness & Friendship,
Mahler
__________________ In Fitness & Friendship, MAHLER
______________________________ __________________________ There is no light at the end of the tunnel. You carry the light with you.
While the situation Mr. Tillman walked into was certainly very complex, and not as simple as the media likes to make it out to be, you have to admire someone who can walk away from fame and riches (2 very intoxicating and self-feeding conditions) to do what he thinks is right. Whether you agree with the politics or not, that is very impressive. (Not to add a political bent, but) I think the same way of Jimmy Carter. He could live the easy life a retired president, playing golf and enjoying his wealth, but instead he treks around the world trying to address social issues and correct social injustices (AIDS pandemic, Africa's troubles, low income housing, world conflict, and the list goes on and on). As a president, he did a poor job when faced with difficult circumstances, but as a man, I think he may be the best man in modern history I have seen hold a position of power like that.
When you can reach the heights of modern civilization and keep your principles and do the right thing for those who are less fortunate, I think you are a winner.
Im my mind, Tillman represents an incredible choice that is very rare in this day. He had in his hands 99% of the material things this world had to offer (fame, money, women, etc.), and gave it all up to do what he believed to be in the best interests of this country (which means the bests interests of you and me and our families and everyone else). A very rare individual who represents the best of our country.
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