sgtmac_46
Senior Master
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2004
- Messages
- 4,753
- Reaction score
- 189
All through history we hear about the "forge of war", whereby men are either shattered or tempered. I've known men in my life who were tempered in that forge of war, who seemed to me, for lack of a better term, better, more noble people as a result of that trauma. I've also known those crushed by it.
I've noticed many veterans who have endured the horrors of combat, have a perspective few of us will ever know. Many of them have went on to live full and successful lives, and rarely seem burdened by the same common fears and worries that the rest of us have. It's as if many of them have found a sort of inner-peace that allows them to meet problems with grace and poise for the rest of their lives. It's as though they've seen the worst hell that life can be, so they are more appreciative of the good things in life. Senator John McCain comes to mind as an excellent example.
Now, psychologists are researching this phenomenon.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10208906/
"Friedman said studies of World War II veterans often showed that they valued the experience, even though they had serious post-combat stress: "Yes, I've suffered," he said men would report, "but I wouldn't have given up this experience for anything in the world. . . . The things I experienced have made me a better man today."
I also find it interesting that researchers have concluded that PTSD is a somewhat rarer phenomenon than first assumed.
What do you folks think?
I've noticed many veterans who have endured the horrors of combat, have a perspective few of us will ever know. Many of them have went on to live full and successful lives, and rarely seem burdened by the same common fears and worries that the rest of us have. It's as if many of them have found a sort of inner-peace that allows them to meet problems with grace and poise for the rest of their lives. It's as though they've seen the worst hell that life can be, so they are more appreciative of the good things in life. Senator John McCain comes to mind as an excellent example.
Now, psychologists are researching this phenomenon.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10208906/
"Friedman said studies of World War II veterans often showed that they valued the experience, even though they had serious post-combat stress: "Yes, I've suffered," he said men would report, "but I wouldn't have given up this experience for anything in the world. . . . The things I experienced have made me a better man today."
I also find it interesting that researchers have concluded that PTSD is a somewhat rarer phenomenon than first assumed.
What do you folks think?
