Who you are first, then what you do

I finished Donald Kagan's "The Peloponnesian War" a couple weeks ago and am still shell-shocked. Kagan's career as a historian has focused on the 27-year conflict between Athens and Sparta, which has fascinated political and military historians ever since because of its epic scale and the way it set the mold for so many "great" wars between two superpowers and their alliances.

For me, however, one of the most compelling things about the history is what it tells us about the men involved, and how they responded to opportunities and challenges. (Sorry, but historians in the 4th century B.C. don't seem to have paid much attention to women.) It was sad to see principled, brave men die for naught, and scheming, self-seeking men carry out their plans. I was heartbroken to read the Spartan commander Brasidas died carrying out a brilliant tactical strike that capped a brilliant strategic campaign. He was daring in war and generous in victory, but held fast to conservative values and loyalties when politicians at home tried to enforce an unjust peace. After his death, the peace did not hold and his view of the future was borne out. I read about Thrasybulus, the Athenian general who steadfastly defended democracy in his city from threats without and within for many years. Even when Athens eventually lost the war and the Spartans installed the terrorizing, oligarchic regime of The Thirty, Thrasybulus led a successful resistance that began with only 70 men. On the other hand, there were many men who obviously sought nothing more than their own personal glory. These men served their city in many cases, but would also work against its best interests when it suited them.

Real life doesn't always have clear-cut lessons for us. Reading the book, I realized that victory or defeat is never fully within our control, and is very dependent on circumstances. What's more, your hard-won success in one instance can be easily erased by another's folly. I learned a bit about how real democracy often leads to really terrible political compromises and even tragedy, but also how it unifies the people and gives them greater resolve.

Most importantly, I learned this: We can't control the outcome of our actions. Focusing on solely on outcomes leads to an ends-justify-the-means mentality and corrupts who we are. Many people fall prey to this trap. Instead, we should focus on who we are and what we believe, like Brasidas and Thrasybulus. We still have equal chances of success or failure but are protected from losing our way in a moral sense and letting ourselves be defined by what we do.