In that strange way things in life mash themselves up with unrelated items, I was having a moment with one of Mrs. Salamander's cousins who is all of 27 yrs old and is acting out like a spoiled 16-yr old from a John Hughes movie.
A man of that age is, well, a man, and should act as one. Our history is full of such examples and benchmarks that should set the bar, but alas, we don't teach that history for some reason. At least it wasn't ever taught to him.
One of those benchmarks was crisply outlined by Rick Brookhiser a half decade ago. Look up the battle in detail yourself, but here is the standard every man in his late 20s should measure himself by.
We live in a gilded time with all the advantages providence could bless a person. Stop complaining, blaming others, and think you are entitled to anything.
You've been an emancipated adult for a decade. Shut up and lean on your oar.
... the Battle of Lake Erie ... The American commander, 28-year-old Oliver Hazard Perry, left his burning flagship, the USS Lawrence, and was rowed half a mile under enemy fire to his second ship, the USS Niagara; returning to the attack, he forced the enemy to surrender.Fullbore.
His terse description of the battle – “We have met the enemy and they are ours” — went straight to the log books of immortality.
The battle had two important results. It cleared William Henry Harrison’s flank, allowing him to march into Upper Canada (modern Ontario) and win a rare American victory at the Battle of the Thames (notable for the death of Tecumseh, the only Indian leader with the strategic and political savvy which might have enabled him to stop westward expansion).
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America’s control of Lake Erie would also be a key factor the following year when the ministry asked the Duke of Wellington to go to America himself and wrap up the war for Britain. The Duke looked at the map and the lakes and said, no. Peace soon followed.
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