Friday 15 October 2010

Bastards at war

 

When addressing his troops in 1944 before heading off to Normandy, General George S. Patton tried to make sure his men understood clearly what was that business about.

It was about winning a war.Plainly and straightforward it was.

He made sure that all men had clear in their minds what they were expected to do, and what they were not.

No bastard has ever won a war by dying for his country; wars are won by making the other poor bastard die for his country”, said he.(*)

As much as Larry Ellison follows Sun Tzu, we think he actually follows fellow Americans who have proven good in the “Art of War” and are not so far in History, such as General George S. Patton Jr.

It appears to us that Ellison has no real interest in dying for his country (i.e. his Oracle thing), this being much more unlikely that he trying to make another guy die for his own.

The other guy, for an appetizer, will have to dedicate a lot of time, resources and energy to get rid of all the hassle and buzz about the TomorrowNow affair. (You may want to check details on it in earlier posts below).

At some point, not being able to deal with your main mission and devoting your energy to cleaning up past issues is in itself a way of dying, we’d say. As well, should you survive that test, depending on the outcome of the trial, potential damage might as well kill you, would you not agree?

(*) Disclaimer: The quote above is shown as portrayed in the movie starred by George C. Scott in 1970. Phrasing might not be exactly as actual speech.