General Mattis urges young veterans to fight cynicism

Tough talk. Tough soldiering. These are the qualities for which Retired Marine General, and current Secretary of Defense, James Mattis is known.

But his comments at one Memorial Day ceremony in 2014 highlight a message to veterans of modern wars: You are stronger for your service.

“For whatever trauma came with service in tough circumstances, we should take what we learned-take our post-traumatic growth-and, like past generations coming home, bring our sharpened strengths to bear, bring our attitude of gratitude to bear. And, most important, we should deny cynicism a role in our view of the world.

We know that in tough times cynicism is just another way to give up, and in the military we consider cynicism or giving up simply as forms of cowardice. No matter how bad any situation, cynicism has no positive impact. Watching the news, you might notice that cynicism and victimhood often seem to go hand-in-hand, but not for veterans. People who have faced no harsh trials seem to fall into that mode, unaware of what it indicates when taking refuge from responsibility for their actions. This is an area where your example can help our society rediscover its courage and its optimism.”

In comments to USA Today, Mattis emphasized this point:

“I would just say there is one misperception of our veterans and that is they are somehow damaged goods,” Mattis said. “I don’t buy it.”

“There is also something called post traumatic growth where you come out of a situation like that and you actually feel kinder toward your fellow man and fellow woman,” Mattis said.