Those who are ready to die for their homeland will not go to meanness. Only a selfish man indifferent to the homeland resorts to it.
The Fatherland is not defended by meanness. It is worthy of the best human qualities – nobility, chivalry, and courage.
Nations are at their best in times of war, which provides many reasons for both exultation and horror. As soon as the first cannon is thundered, the socially best elements of the army – the altruist, the fighter, the patriot – by virtue of the same psychological polarization, become models of selfless love, comradeship, and courage. And it is they who constitute the real strength of the army, its moral backbone, its “guard”.
They endanger their lives, perform feats, become heroes, and often stain the road to victory with their blood.
And socially indifferent elements – egotists, cowards, non-patriots – according to the same law of soul polarization, become the weakest and most vulnerable part of the army, manifesting themselves as deserters, alarmists, and selfish people.
Woe betide the army that has only a few experienced commanders-psychologists! In such a state of affairs, the weak elements often manage to disorient and demoralize even combat-ready soldiers.
A commander who knows the laws of mass psychology, by his own living example, contributes to the polarization of the mental qualities of his fighters in a positive direction, thereby excluding negative polarization. And this, in fact, is a good half of the commander’s job – its most important half.
