Emotionally Intelligent Soldier

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Jan 31, 2008 Emotionally Enlightened Soldier

Nov 7, 2007 Emotionally Intelligent Soldiers

Sep 19, 2007 The Guilt Free Soldier

Dec 24, 2006 EI, War, Peace

Aprl 4 Emotional Intelligence of Nations | Emotional Intelligence and the US Air Force

Mar 28 - The difference between the emotionally intelligent soldier and former soldier

March 27, 2006 - Creation of this page

Here is something I wrote today when I was writing about sports, schools and soldier preparation:

With all the pressure to perform in not only academics but sports, combined with emotionally unsupportive parents, these are the kinds of teens who self-harm. I firmly believe they are the among the most innately emotionally intelligent among us. They simply are not valued for their gifts in our competitive, violent world. They don't fit in. They are not understood. They feel alone.

I feel somewhat encouraged that with the Internet they can now begin to meet each other and find out that there are other intelligent, sensitive people who don't like violence and who care about others so they will feel less alone and less suicidal. I hope that they will be able to form friendships and support groups and eventually make a positive difference in the world as adults.

I am putting this under the emotionally intelligent soldier page because I want to show the link between the sports/competition mentality and the war mentality. I want to highlight that truly emotionally intelligent people, who have lived in emotionally supportive and validating environments, would be opposed to war and would work to stop it, not participate in it. Therefore the emotionally intelligent soldier cannot exist. If he or she found himself in the military, they would leave at the first opportunity. If all humans followed this model, there would be no one left to fight the wars that the government leaders talk the people into.

As I was writing editorial 62, I said something about the different kinds of education. This led me to start thinking about the difference between what we might call an emotionally intelligent soldier and an emotionally intelligent former soldier.

I would say that the emotionally intelligent soldier cannot exist. It is a contradiction in terms. Yet a person who is emotionally intelligent and then leaves the military and tries to prevent wars could be called an emotionally intelligent former soldier.

To summarize we might say that some people might say that an emotionally intelligent solider is successful at winning wars, but I would say that an emotionally intelligent former soldier is successful in preventing them.

Emotional Intelligence of Nations

Posted by Lorelei Kelly

Remember Emotional Intelligence? Ten years ago, Dan Goleman's bestseller shifted our thinking about effective leadership. His book declared that a high IQ is only part of the picture, and that understanding and relating well with others is often more important than run of the mill smarts because self-awareness and the ability to build lasting meaningful relationships are fundamental keys to success.

Apparently nobody in the Bush Administration read the book. By nominating John Bolton for Ambassador to the UN and Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank, the administration has signaled round two of "talk to the hand" policy making.

Both men are indeed smart and understand the need for international cooperation. Bolton was behind the innovative Proliferation Security Initiative and Wolfowitz was by all accounts a knowledgeable and effective Ambassador to Indonesia. But these attributes do not make up for the diplomatic failure--on the whole--of this administration. This is made evident by their tendency to view the world as one of Darwinian self-help. As a British friend put it to me "America seems to see itself AS the scheme of things rather than IN the scheme of things." A sure sign of low emotional intelligence.

International attitudes bear this out. A 2003 Global Scan poll of 19 countries found that when asked if the US had a positive influence on the world, only 37% of respondents agreed. Distressingly, 55% disagreed. Pre-emptive war, championed by Wolfowitz in Iraq and the regular dissing of the UN by Bolton have taken their toll on our prestige. Sure, only a small number of individuals beyond our borders have both the hatred and the sophistication to harm us, but it really doesn't help matters when nearly the entire population of Germany is repelled by our leadership.

The actual impact or "blowback" of these negative attitudes on the United States is difficult to measure. But security in the age of globalization demands that we begin to appreciate the importance of such intangibles to our own well-being. The United States, in its short history, has set the gold standard for problem-solving, cooperation and mutually beneficial relationships. It has taken only four years for that legacy to become frayed and fragile. We're slowly losing one of our most powerful tools of national interest: being exemplary.

It is unlikely that the rest of the world will forgive and forget easily. Collective amnesia aside, Bolton and Wolfowitz threaten to make our situation worse.

A friend told me when he was in the Bulgarian army they ordered the new trainess to cut grass with a pocket knife. This evidently was to help teach them to be obedient, no matter how they felt about the command. Of course, they would be punished if they disobeyed.

In the recent past, all men in Bulgaria had to "serve" in the army. (It might be more accurate to say had to "obey" in the army.) Since my friend was a university student he had to obey army commanders for six months rather than a year.

How would an emotionally intelligent person respond to this at the time and then once they were no longer afraid of disobeying?

In my editorial number 62 I said "I am really just waiting now to see how many people will claim that emotional intelligence also helps someone be a better soldier." Well, I found this article about emotional intelligence that says just that.