Well, "Never Surrender" does sound appealing, but I like a good bit of judicious panic, retreat, retrenchment, change of plans, another idea and general cowardice. Our DNA didn't get programmed for sheer fear and flight for nothing! It keeps us alive.
"Cowardice" is often used in relation to somebody else who is saving their bacon. But it's also, oddly, used for example as in, "Cowardly attack on a US warship by an inflatable boat - two men were seen to stand to attention as the inflatable hit the warship and exploded".
There is no way at all that such an attack can be called cowardly. Normally one would call it a heroic attack. Dropping a nuke on Hiroshima, from the safety of a high-flying plane, killing a horde of children and women and civilians would normally be considered more cowardly. Or Lieutenant William Caley might be considered cowardly [he and his soldiers killed a village of people at My Lai - soliders are often very brave when fighting children, women, unarmed civilians and weaker foes]. Bombing a Greenpeace boat with limpet mines would be considered cowardly.
Real fighting men used to meet in serried ranks on a battlefield after morning tea. Women and children were kept safe at home.
Mqurice |
