Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Preface to the English Edition
- Preface to the Portuguese Edition
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Fierro and Sombra Head for Mexico
- 2 The Unquenchable Thirst for Honor: The Gladiator
- 3 Martín Fierro Inspires Perón's Leadership Style
- 4 The Siege of Montevideo
- 5 Fierro and Sombra Discuss Leadership Theory
- 6 Fierro and Sombra Follow the Federalist Revolt in Southern Brazil
- 7 The Unquenchable Thirst for Honor: The Bullfight
- 8 In Venezuela, Fierro and Sombra Assess the Marcha Restauradora
- 9 Panama Secedes from Colombia, and Fierro Looks for Heroism in Costa Rica
- 10 Fierro and Sombra Discuss the Leadership of the Mexican Revolution
- 11 Contrasts with American Military Leadership: The Punitive Expedition
- 12 Epilogue
- Glossary
- References
- Index
2 - The Unquenchable Thirst for Honor: The Gladiator
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 June 2018
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Preface to the English Edition
- Preface to the Portuguese Edition
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Fierro and Sombra Head for Mexico
- 2 The Unquenchable Thirst for Honor: The Gladiator
- 3 Martín Fierro Inspires Perón's Leadership Style
- 4 The Siege of Montevideo
- 5 Fierro and Sombra Discuss Leadership Theory
- 6 Fierro and Sombra Follow the Federalist Revolt in Southern Brazil
- 7 The Unquenchable Thirst for Honor: The Bullfight
- 8 In Venezuela, Fierro and Sombra Assess the Marcha Restauradora
- 9 Panama Secedes from Colombia, and Fierro Looks for Heroism in Costa Rica
- 10 Fierro and Sombra Discuss the Leadership of the Mexican Revolution
- 11 Contrasts with American Military Leadership: The Punitive Expedition
- 12 Epilogue
- Glossary
- References
- Index
Summary
Early in the morning, Fierro and Sombra decamped and leisurely led their horses to cross the River Uruguay; the ride will take a few days during which they will exchange views on several subjects. The first exchange is on dueling.
“Fierro, you enjoy dueling. You could have been a gladiator.”
“Perhaps I was one, Sombra.”
“Tell me, then, Fierro, because you sound as if you had been there. Why did a gladiator fight at all? For he, or she, in being originally a slave, would be seen as less than a follower, certainly not a leader, therefore fit only for dying, tomorrow if not today. Why, then, would they fight at all?”
“Perhaps Spartacus wondered how he could defeat hopelessness, but still he must have found compensation, even exultation, in defying the odds of his existence that entailed an inevitable degradation. Seen under this light, much of the unlawful behavior of our urban youth in drug trafficking is akin to the behavior of the gladiators!”
“The gladiator was not wholly deprived of dignity, Sombra. Even more telling, his dignity was reckoned by the audience who had power of life and death over him.”
“Would you say, Fierro, that more dignity was bestowed upon the gladiator then than today's societies are willing to bestow upon many of its workers at the saladeros?”
“I think so, Sombra. Think, if you wish, of the hordes of workers hauled into the saladeros every morning. What dignity is conceded to those people who toil, as they do in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo or Mexico, three to four hours a day in transportation alone, and in such appalling conditions! Only to earn a pittance after a full day's work, and only to reignite the ritual the next day?”
“But Fierro, more frequently than not, the gladiator is today seen as a slave forced to fight for his life. We rightly wonder, why would he bother to fight at all if his life were so miserable? For if continued miseries were the only outcome, why would the gladiator not prefer to die sooner rather than later?”
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- Information
- Gaucho Dialogues on Leadership and Management , pp. 17 - 26Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2017