Subordination Quotes
A variation of this concept is fundamental to the English and American military view of the concept of command.
The quotation is from Walzer, but the idea was originated by the Jewish Rabbi, Physician and Philosopher Maimonides (1135-1204) who Walzer credits. This idea is really at the historical and philosophical backbone of all welfare reform efforts. Maimonodes, for example, argued that one of the greatest forms of charity is giving a person money or other assistance to start a business.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910
Miles, a hero of the Indian Campaigns (although he led the atrocities at the massacre at Wounded Knee) and then the leading military figure in America was an opponent of the policies of the new young President and had political aspirations of his own for the Presidency. Miles’ opinions were printed in the press. He maintained that he was not speaking as the Commanding General of the Army but personally as a citizen. The President surprised almost all by publicly scolding and reprimanding Miles when he next came to the White House. Five days later Roosevelt made the reprimand official, effectively ending Miles career. The issue of when senior military officers can criticize the administration has been debated ever since. Roosevelt was also a war hero himself, and although the military was shocked by such “savage” treatment of a senior officer, the President had public opinion on his side. Every decade or so there is a military official who does not care for the administration’s policies and expresses himself publicly. President Truman’s firing to General Douglas Macarthur was the most dramatic case, but Truman was well aware of the Miles and TR precedent.
