George Washington- AKA A Lesson in Running Away by Charles

George Washington- AKA A Lesson in Running Away by Charles - October 2021 Scholarship Essay

I think in popular culture, bravery is shown to mean one thing: Fighting something or someone head on, even if you are almost certain to lose. David taking on Goliath. Yet I think time and time again, history has shown that fighting a losing battle is not the best way to do things. The case of George Washington is one of those cases.

Now I think calling George Washington an American icon is not a controversial statement, but looking more into the circumstances of not only the Revolutionary War but George Washington as a person gives a true sense of the scale of reverence this man deserves. Let's start with the man himself- George Washington was not a particularly bright tactical genius, hell during the French and Indian War he accidentally surrendered a British fort to the French. But there was one thing he did well- he recognized his strengths, and his enemy's weaknesses.

Now about the Revolution- the Revolutionary War seemed doomed from the start. The Revolutionary Army was a weak bunch of militia, the British were the strongest military in the world, and the American economy was- well not striving lets say. But despite this, George Washington saw his advantages and his enemies' weaknesses. He saw that his troops were comfortable in the colonial woodlands, whereas the British preferred their long battlefield lines. He saw that the British had long supply lines, and that by running away in the vast Continental countryside, he could overextend them and destroy them when they were weak. He also saw that the other European powers smelled weakness in Britain and famously used diplomats like Benjamin Franklin to woo them to his side. And despite his weaknesses, he played for time and managed to win!

This strategy of seeing where you're strong and where others are weak has inspired me to perform the best I can in my own life. While I have no enemies whose weakness I can exploit, finding my own strengths and playing into them has really helped me get ahead. Instead of facing some of my problems head on David v. Goliath style and hoping for the best, I can sneak up on them and tip the scales into a position more favorable to myself, like Washington in the woods.

So let's thank George Washington for seeing the enemy and running away, because without him, we might not know how to find our own victories.