Aside from the fact that it was fighting for—quite possibly—the worst cause in human history, the Confederacy was destroyed by its incompetent, thin-skinned generals. It should not surprise us that people who thought they deserved to own other people would be egotistical, entitled and impossible to command, but they were.
It started from the top. There was a scene from earlier in President Jefferson Davis' life, when he was then the secretary of war for the United States. Davis belligerently pestered the beloved General Winfield Scott repeatedly about some trivial matter. He grew angrier and angrier, more and more out of line. Scott ignored it until, finally, forced to address it, he wrote that he pitied Davis. "Compassion is always due," he said to him, "to an enraged imbecile, who lays about him in blows which hurt only himself."
It shouldn't surprise us that Jefferson meddled with his generals during the Civil War, nursed petty grudges and was often impossible to work for. His generals followed his example. General Braxton Bragg, who lost the Battle of Chickamauga, was famously so disagreeable, that the following quip following him everywhere: "My God, Mr. Bragg, you have quarreled with every officer in the army, and now you are quarrelling with yourself!"
The point is this: Anger is a dangerous emotion. A volatile temper is one of the worst traits a leader can have. In his essay Of Anger, Seneca provides example after example of the waste and destruction anger causes—how it ultimately wounds us more than the person we are upset with. Is this not true in your own life? How many TV remotes have you broken? Who feels it more—the wall or your fist? Do you think yelling at your subordinates makes them care more about their work or less?
Your temper will not take you to a better place. Only an ugly one. Even if you do get what you want, you will not enjoy it. Because you'll be bitter and worked up when you get there.
We must conquer our anger. We must master ourselves if we want to do great things. If we want to be able to appreciate them when we do.
P.S. The Stoics have some of the smartest and most applicable insights about getting your anger contained. For a high level introduction to some of those insights, check out this article: Anger Management: 8 Strategies Backed By Two Thousand Years of Practice. Or if you really want to get serious about conquering your anger, sign up for our course: Taming Your Temper: The 11-Day Stoic Guide to Controlling Anger. 11 days of challenges, exercises, video lessons, and bonus tools based on Stoic philosophy and aimed at helping you deal with your anger in a constructive manner. Learn more here!
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