Lessons from ‘The Odyssey’ lessons still resonate
The lessons from ‘The Odyssey’ are still relevant today. The story of the Odyssey was an unnecessary military quagmire that resulted from poor, egotistical leadership. A 10-day journey turned into 10 years because Odysseus’ crew did not trust him and opened a bag of wind that set the ship completely off course.
Like Odysseus’ crew, our military is not trusted with the truth. Their mission is ill-defined, and their objectives are ever-changing. Pushed to exhaustion, they’re told they’re weak for speaking up for their own interests. Our president has no problem using people as decoys to escape to safety, just as Odysseus used his own crew as decoys against Scylla.
Odysseus surviving does not make him a hero. He faces trials just to save himself, not a community. Here in the United States, our government does not depend on one man. We currently have a president who thinks he’s so important that his golf course has U.S. Army Avenger mobile air-defense systems. Far from brave, he is willing to spend any amount of taxpayer money for his own benefit. ‘The Odyssey’ is a warning, and it should be remembered that none of Odysseus’ crew survived the journey under his command.