Carolina QuotesBig talkers have a greater tendency to compromise you than the strong, silent types who aren't so eager to transmit the latest insider gossip. You have to think about those characteristics.
William G. Boykin Carolinian
Source
p. 118
- work
- Man to Man: Rediscovering Masculinity in a Challenging World (2020)
- year
- 2020
- locator
- p. 118
Cite this record
“Big talkers have a greater tendency to compromise you than t…” William G. Boykin. Carolina Quotes, record CQ-DD771B8D9D. https://carolinaquotes.com/quote/dd771b8d9d
More from William G. Boykin
In 1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia, I was the Delta Force commander during the events most commonly referred to as "Black Hawk Down." Two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down in the city of five million people, where most of those people were starving refugees. Within thirty minutes of the first chopper being shot down, the second one was shot down. When the first chopper went down I sent every one of my soldiers who were already fighting in the city to go rescue the crew and passengers of the first crash. I was left with few options when the second helo went down over a mile away from the first crash. I had to pull together a second rescue effort using those soldiers, sailors, and airmen who were left in the base- many of whom were not combat arms specialties (they were clerks, mechanics, communicators, and supply people). To their credit, every man was eager to be part of the effort to rescue their brothers at the second crash site.
I had the honor of standing in the West Wing of the White House as the U.S. president presented the medals to the widows and families of those two incredible warriors. There is no question those two men knew they were putting their lives on the line by going into that chaotic scene. Their request was denied twice. Yet they still asked to go in. Why? The answer is because they had a transcendent cause. And what was that transcendent cause? In their case, it was part of the fifth stanza of the Ranger Creed: "Never shall I leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy. Those two men lived and died by it. That promise to their fellow soldiers was their transcendent cause. Maybe we'd like to think it was the American flag or the U.S. Constitution or the oath they took to defend that Constitution. But, no, when you get to that level of combat, it's all about the guy on your right and the guy on your left. And your transcendent cause is the commitment you've made to each other. It's just part of who you are and what you do. You know he's not going to fail you and leave you. And he knows the same about you.
Cecil's habit of providing for others wasn't limited to his immediate family. One day he got word his best friend had lost his home in a fire. At that time Cecil was struggling to pay his own bills. But that didn't stop him: he cut corners and scraped together whatever he could. And he gave his friend all the cash he could find. I remember that day- as he handed the cash to his friend- because it looked like so much money to me at the time. I would guess it was no more than a hundred dollars in various denominations of bills, but to an eight-year-old it looked like a fortune. It left a powerful impression on me and just deepened my respect and admiration for him over the years. Throughout my life my father exhibited many examples for me to follow concerning the responsibility a man has to care for those he loves and for those who are in need. My father firmly believed it wasn't the U.S. government's responsibility to take care of his parents, his children, friends, or his neighbors. In fact, in his view, it was his role as an American who loved his country to provide for others as much as possible.