Today, Robert McNamara passed away. I can definitely say that he is a politician that I looked up to. Not necessarily for what he did as a politician but for his humility and his willingness to admit mistakes. Both are qualities that are not usually found in the political world.
About a year ago, I posted about his book entitled “In Retrospect.” It is truly one of the most prolific and most honest books by a politician that I have ever read. Below is the post:
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I just finished the most amazing book today entitled In Retrospect by Robert S. McNamara. If the name sounds familiar, you probably pay some attention to politics. McNamara was the Secretary of Defense under both JFK and LBJ. If you are familiar with the book, you probably took either a 20th century history or politics class. I found out this book in one of my undergrad classes when we watched a documentary called “The Fog of War.” In this book, McNamara lists eleven lessons learned from the Vietnam War. These lessons were based on mistakes that McNamara felt were made.
Here is how the book starts out:
“This is the book that I planned never to write.
Although pressed repeatedly for over a quarter of a century to add my views on Vietnam to public record, I hesitated for fear that I might appear self-serving, defensive, or vindictive, which I wished to avoid at all costs. Perhaps I hesitated also because it is hard to face one’s mistakes. But something changed my attitude and willingness to speak. I am responding not to a desire to get out my personal story but rather to a wish to put before the American people why their government and its leaders behaved as they did and what we may learn from that experience.”
Yes, McNamara does not seek to point out other’s mistakes but he is willing to point out his own. For someone in government to do this is amazing, but think about, how many of us are willing to point out our mistakes? Our flaws? When we should have done something differently? When we should have said something differently?
Unfortunately, the answer is not many of us. We are happy to continue to defend our mistakes or worse yet, pretend they never occurred.
This book came out in 1994. Discussion of the mistakes made in Vietnam continue to this day. It may be arguable to say that they have increased in the wake of the Iraq War as many comparisons are made. To admit mistakes on something so controversial takes bravery.
If someone could admit mistakes about something so big, why is it hard for us to admit mistakes in our own lives?
