Rory Stewart on T. E. Lawrence
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- Опубликовано: 11 июл 2021
- On Monday 7 June 2021, 6:00 - 7:00PM BST, Rory Stewart joined us to discuss how the life and writings of T.E. Lawrence have inspired him during his career.
Rory Stewart is a Senior Fellow at the Jackson Institute, Yale University. He focuses on contemporary politics in crisis and on international development and intervention in fragile and conflict-affected states.
Rory was the UK Secretary of State for International Development where he doubled the U.K.’s investment in international climate and environment. Prior to that, he served in a variety of roles including Minister of the environment, Minister of State responsible for development policy in the Middle East and Asia and UK policy in Africa, as Minister of State for Justice, and as Chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee. Earlier in his career, he served briefly as an infantry officer and then as a diplomat for the UK government in Indonesia, the Balkans and Iraq. He founded and ran the Turquoise Mountain Foundation in Afghanistan and was the Director of the Carr Centre and the Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He has also written four books: The Places in Between, Occupational Hazards or The Prince of the Marshes, Can Intervention Work?, and The Marches. 
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Britain needs a leader like Rory Stewart a brave and clever fellow.
Unfortunately we wound up with Boris. Oh dear.
@@thenefyncat6970 Truss now.. dearie, dearie me..
Like Starmer he hardly looks like a leader of men - would be better off as a Stan Laurel impersonator ! .
@@yorkiegilly4355 Looks can be deceiving - Don’t judge a book by its cover !
Rory was my MP, while he was a member of Theresa May's cabinet, trying to find the best way to implement Brexit. I exchanged many emails with him, trying to persuade him that it was a thankless task in that May's solution would please no-one: Remainers would lose the ability to influence EU laws, and the UK would become a rule-taker; while Leavers would still be bound by EU laws and regulations. But the NI situation and the Good Friday Agreement prevented a "hard" Brexit if the integrity of the UK was to be preserved and we were to avoid a border down the Irish Sea, which everyone agreed (at the time) was completely unthinkable. So I maintained that there would be no solution, and Rory was backing the wrong horse.
Rory's responses were all friendly and timely, but always stated that although he disagreed with the referendum result he would honour it, and would work to achieve the best Brexit he could. Finally, May found that her solution was not acceptable to anyone except the DUP, and resigned. Rory recognised that Johnson was unfit to become Tory Leader and Prime Minister, and refused to accept any position in his government should he win the leadership position. As a result he lost his seat and his political career. But before he left I made a point of meeting him, shaking him by the hand, and thanking him for his principled response to the Brexit referendum, and for taking his stand against Johnson. I called him "friend", and saw the surprise on his face when I did so: After our email argument about Brexit over the previous couple of years, that was the last thing he expected.
Rory Stewart was the only Tory MP I would have voted for. Possibly that I will ever vote for. Although I detest the Tories, he will always be, for me, the leader we should have had.
We really need intelligent and truthful men like Rory to help this damaged old country out !!
To think we could have had this man as our PM instead of Johnson. Gravitas and integrity - Boris couldn't spell the words.
Lawrence's advice to agree, support, and persuade: I saw that in action once, 20 years ago. I was an engineer, presenting my proposed design for factory integration to my senior French customer in Paris, with my boss along to provide the "equal" seniority during our discussions. Very early in our meeting, the customer rejected my design outright, and started drawing an outline on a whiteboard of what he wanted the design to be. With the customer's back turned to us, we had a short exchange of sign language between me and my boss as to how to tell the customer not to be such an idiot. :o) My response would have been to be very critical of the customer's half-baked ideas. But my boss signed to me to leave it to him, so I sat back...
After the customer had sketched his design out, my boss took the line of "I see where you're coming from..." but asked the customer to expand on a couple of areas which lacked detail. The customer turned back to the board and added some detail, but now he had had a chance to think more deeply, and his additions made more sense. Then my boss pointed out a small correction where the new detail conflicted with the original sketch. The customer agreed, went back and revised it. Over the next half an hour, my boss continued in this vein, with the sketched outline becoming increasingly detailed and increasingly sensible. By the end of the meeting, our customer had on his board exactly what I had proposed in my report, but he now believed that it was his idea and that he had proven our design (MY design) wrong. We left with the knowledge that the agreed design was exactly what we wanted, and with a very happy and self-satisfied customer.
It was an object lesson in diplomacy which I have never forgotten.
The best explanation of Lawrence I've ever heard or read.
Rory Stewart is very thoughtful, we need his intelligence in Britain.
I am almost lost for words by the brilliance of this man. His penetrating analysis of Lawrence has such a ring of authenticity that
it seems his own life experiences parallel certain aspects of Lawrence’s conflicts.
An outstanding video which demands a second viewing.
Indeed, though there's a danger of Rory who describes himself as "too idealistic" now, perhaps putting himself too much into Lawrence's motivations, one of Rory's themes is public service.
Listening now I wonder if TEL was punishing himself later, we can probably agree that HMG & Sheikhs pursued their own interests, TEL was a conduit of financial power. Money had historically been an effective tool of the Empire, fighting leaves scars on those involved so he may have had a survivors guilt as well as having a sense of misleading Arabs by being dumped .. too idealistic lolol
Rory's suggestion of going to the ranks for honour and duty, that seems a bit feeble to me, I suspect the withdrawal from prominence may be from an imposter syndrome, he lived out a dream but it was incompatible with the reality of Empire which wanted compensations for the sacrifice of WW1
Rory Stewart is an amazing intelligent man.. He would have made a fabulous PM ..
I wholeheartedly agree with you....x
Possibly a deep thinker who would pontificate too much when quick political decisions were needed.
@@robert3987 He has a history as a soldier and diplomat. I am sure he has needed to think far quicker than most people.
If you are intelligent you can think fast, those two things are literally synonymous. He clearly can deal with stress so I have absolutely no idea why you think his ability to think well when there isnt a time restriction would indicate that he cant think fast when need be.
Totally agree with you. Tremendous loss and that is both telling and a benchmark to gauge the current crop of politicians.
Why „would have“?
This is not yet fully clear once the ERG plague has to leave.
I could listen to this man all day, every day. Such a tragedy that he has left British politics.
He didn't so much leave as was kicked out by that charlatan, Johnson.
I know him personally and you're right. His father was equally interesting and would spend much longer talking with you.
Rory is a very busy man, but his dad was writing, painting, planning and designing well into his 90s.
My politics are way different from them, but great respect for genuine human beings.
I was a member of the conservative party when we had the voting for the next leader and Rory was one of the candidates alongside Boris and co.... My vote was going to Rory, but allowed myself to be convinced by others in the membership that Rory had no charisma and that Boris was the one to unite the party. I regret my decision to today( even though i appreciate that Rory probably would have struggled as leader).
@@spike6643 I was at his side when that happened - I'd done the groundwork he capitalised in Afghanistan. During that time, I'd demonstrated a similar mild miracle, and that brought the eye of evil upon us. We all went, Johnny Mercer, David Davis, Rory, Andrew Mitchell, anyone with probity, bottom, competence. Dana's chum, if you see him.
Yes and yes,
A true polymath of extraordinary brilliance, as evidenced by this and other podcasts (focused more on current politics). Too bad he currently is out of British political life. He would make a great Prime Minister for a country facing great challenges. (Thus opines an American cousin.)
I think Rory's revealing description of Lawrence would have touched a nerve in each of us. As if he were describing a particular facet of our own personally and revealing certain aspirations we carried in our youth.
Interestingly, in this age of celebrity culture, those same attributes that Lawrence rejected have become standard issue and actively promoted in convincing the most ordinary of people that they are in fact exceptional.
You've gotta love Rory ❤️
Rory is happier being a commentator. He is not slippery enough to be a politician but he could contribute to political life by developing ideas to improve Britain. Ideas about nationhood, family, getting the right balance been public and private systems to produce goods and services. Ideas and principles about individual responsibility, our duty towards others etc etc. I think this is where his heart is.
A couple of things Rory - His time as a soldier and airman was more nuanced than you suggest. He owned a series of the most powerful and expensive motorcyclesmoney could buy - The Brough Superior - which he rode on visits to the great and famous throughout his time at Bovington - Churchill, Shaw, Thomas Hardy et al - I think for example that he stayed stayed at Chartwell where Chaplin was a fellow house guest and at Batemans with Kipling . He didn't live on the base but had his own house - Clouds Hill - nearby. This house was equipped with the best Music reproduction equipment of the day. Today's equivalent would be a super hifi worth tens of thousands. Whilst it didn't have an indoor WC it did boast a complex central heating system and a designer bathroom - so really quite a luxurious hermitage despite its relatively modest size. He had a complex attitude to sexuality to put it mildly. He wrote one of the most interesting books of the 1920's - The Mint - which in its unexpurgated version was as daring and taboo-breaking as D.H Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley's Lover" . He published super expensive editions of "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" . His work with the airforce was connected with the development of both the very advanced motor torpedo boat and the development of the supermarine spitfire in its earlier incarnation as a racing seaplane in the Schneider Trophy series. He most certainly didn't spend years just folding blankets in some army hut. In many ways he was a man far ahead of his time in terms of exploring modern identity linked to technology and sexuality and conflicted loyalties. All of this makes him more interesting and more complicated - indeed an enigma. It was the betrayal of the arab cause in the Sykes Picot agreement that caused him to recoil from politics but his "retreat" from public life was much more theatrical and self-dramatising in the deepest sense than you suggest.
Interesting comments. Thanks. Of course his motorcycles were bought for him by Mrs George Bernard Shaw which is why his several Broughs were named George 1, 2, 3 etc
He paid for some.
Agh! The Sykes-Picot treaty. Interestingly, a Christopher Sykes always seemed very dismissive of Lawrence; there were plenty of voices trying to pull him down...
I am glad Rory lost his bid to become leader of the conservative and PM. Rory is a brilliant speaker, an academic and I believe he is a vey decent man who has integrity. Politics at the lrevel of PM would have ruined him. We benefit more from him as an academic and researcher than we ever would from him if he had stayed in politics. There are very few if any ministers or secretaries in recent government cabinets who can match him for intellect or integrity.
...and I lost a £5 bet.
The question remains will he be given the opportunity to try again?.... Doubtful , as we are going to witness the hard right survive the pummelling that the Conservative party will undoubtedly receive at the ballot box in Autumn? 2024.
Fascinating insight by a brilliant scholar and intellect.Thank you. Years ago Lawrence recognised the fundamental problem of foreign intervention. A lesson that, still to this day, has not been acknowledged or learnt.
Good talk! As an American, I would like to think that one of our politicians could appear so erudite and persuasive. Of course, I can't.
As a Kiwi/Aussie, I do not fully understand the British class system. I guess that is why my forebears left the old country. Being ruled by those considered better because of the circumstances of their birth, is something I cannot fathom.
I find it almost impossible to find things that can hold my attention. This was a very rare success watched and listened to without interruption or rewind. Thanks for sharing.
Ditto. I am reading The Seven Pillars of Wisdom and needed some objective commentary to put it in context. Rory Stewart's analysis is respectful of the myth without being in thrall to it.
Doesn't it break your heart how we can only see his brilliance after we've rejected him.
Rory Stewart is an astonishingly talented individual. His use of the English language is exquisite - I particularly enjoyed his observation that T. E. Lawrence ‘had a great genius for friendship’. Beautifully expressed. I think Rory is very hard on himself - ‘failure’ is not a word I would associate with him or with his distinguished career to date. I was also struck by the wise advice of T. E. Lawrence on working with Arabs, which remains just as relevant today. Thank you Jesus College Alumni for producing this talk.
Insightful and relevant. Thank you very much to all involved.
and incidentally Rory - don't abandon politics - cross the floor, change parties, stand as an independent - do whatever it takes but your country really does need you and people like you. We have enough pallid academics on the fringes of things - In the destructive element immerse ....
Politics is a filthy trade especially now. Far better for Roy's mental health to teach the next generations.
Here in late 2023, I would love to have heard Rory's view of Arab independence in light of the current Hama/Israel situation.
Love this fella. A genuinely superb orator, and we need him back in politics sharpish. That said, Polstead Rd in Oxford took some bullets half way through; harsh, I think it's a damn pretty little road
Don't forget female archeologist/adventurer Gertrude Margaret Bell who mapped important areas in Jordan before World War I
She was there selling ass
Classy, your mum must be proud
Pretty much ignores Lawrence and Bell's intelligence background.
@@jonathanphillips5514 Bell was very brave, working alone providing intelligence reports in a time when women were still openly sold in public markets!
Mr Stewart speaks I think from his own experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan before political service.
Rory's thesis stacks up well for me. TEL has always been an inspiration. My neighbour and friend Amedeo Guillet was an Italian version, though there are big differences!
David Lean's film on Lawrence remains a favourite and led me to research his life.
There is an undoubted symmetry between Rory and T.E's experiences and outlook. I hope the former is allowed to substantially influence the moral fibre of our nation in the years ahead.
Thankyou Rory, and all of the team, for an excellent video presentation.
In the words of the great man Winston . Rory....K. B.O.
Tremendous insight. Thank you so much for this. I have studied and been inspired by Lawrence my whole adult life, and there are so many new insights in this piece.
When I worked at the Bovington Camp at the end of the road wheich Clouds Hill starts.I was very conscious everyday that Lawrence died on that road.Its a long, straight road nearer the Tank Base and I rode my motorbike down it everyday but his Matchless was a beast and mine a smaller one.
Lawrence was an enigma before his time and deeply understood the duality of life in a Colonial Era Britain.
Rory Stewart thesedays is rather enigmatic himself,on the face of it an intellectual humanist travel writer but a minister in a far right wing Conservative Government,I know the former is what I prefer and admire.
Brough Superior. Pretty brave to ride it every day ✔️
A very interesting talk,thank you all. I am Hossin from Iran
An erudite man talking about a fascinating man. Two things: 1) what a loss Rory is to politics and 2) imagine that we could spend an hour watching him and Stephen Fry in conversation.
Thankyou Mr Stewart
A really illuminating talk.
Was I the only one that saw a seam of self revelation in this ?
Brilliant talk, brilliant mind!
Great Rory! Congratulations
What was the line about Lawrence at his funeral - or when they discovered he's died - This is only a fragment: he was a man like no other
A fascinating talk by an impressive intellect.
Rory you are a very wonderful brain and spirit. We need you surrounded by others like you, then, back to politics, PLEASE!!!
I simply love this man and admire him a lot.
I'm a big admirer of RS and his deeply intelligent approach gives me hope that we can do better.
Something that speaks volumes to me about T E Lawrence is that as a boy he slept in a box.
He was never really a part of his parent's culture, he would always be an imposter, someone who's always going to be an outsider.
If he had become Prime Minister I would have voted for a Conservative MP for the first time in my life.
An intelligent a man of dignity. We need him now more than ever to stabilise government
Excellent presentation. Again, Rory delivers.
A wonderful heartfelt sense of the real. x
please run Rory. we need you
I've always been fascinated by Rory Stewart. I would give my right arm if I could have his intellect! His analysis of T. E. Lawrence is the best I've heard yet. Lawrence sadly falls into the category of little boys with vivid imaginations emulating the attributes of his boyhood hero's and when things don't workout in the end just crawls into that whole never to show his face again. It's a case of naive, gullible primitive Arabs getting caught up in his vision, being then led down the garden path with both them and him unawares of the fact that Britain was never in the business of parceling out borders in order to accomodate tribal groups but all along only interested in the natural resources and British Colonial interests. Sadly the hopeful and wonderstruck aspirations of an impressionable young Army Officer no matter how well intentioned were seen only as a nuisance as plans were already in full swing to tap into the liquid gold that lay beneath the ground.
A masterclass.
Im sorry i missed this conversation. I would like to ask Mr Stuart if TE Lawrences book with regards to the Arab mentality is still valid in todays society.
I’ll vote for you
Eloquent. Fluid. Golden thread. Nice work.
Roy shalom, thank you very much for this absolutely fantastic sharing. sincerely. david
I was a fan. I’m now a huge fan.
good work
Such an interesting guy and British politics' loss. He reminds me a bit of Churchill and his years in the wilderness 1920s and 30s. I hope Rory is able to make his way back too.
@Rory Stewart, Sounds like Birch Bay Semiahmoo area. Is this recorded at the Visitor’s Center Museum? Cheers.
Exceptional
P.s I hope Rory has time to view the film
'I Know Where I'm Going'
Lawrence needed some time as an unknown to make sense of his own abilities. The life of deep remorse of being or failing the ambitions of the Arab independence is significant
I heard Rory's comments about the success of T.E. Lawrence's translation of the Odyssey - not being critically / academically acclaimed? That to me this was its success, still beautifully detailed and yet in a more approachable and maybe more modern style. I learned long ago you need two books to read one book. The book itself and then a dictionary - in this case J.E. Zimmerman's Dictionary of Classical Mythology....
Superb stuff. What a loss to the Tories.
As a professional in architectural conservation and having worked as such in the Middle East, I would like RS to give a lecture on the projects and work of Turquoise Mountain in Afghanistan particularly the cultural, aesthetic and technical approaches to architectural conservation in Kabul (e.g. restoration vs minimal conservation of original fabric)
This is a very interesting and important subject.
(I am not an alumni of Jesus College)
Bloody Richard Aldington... my best friend at school wrote a magnificent 'Baldingtonization' of me once. We used to skip off from school to read up on Lawrence at the Imperial War reading room 😊
Cant imagine why, this place was him denied. Was it?
I was at a T.E. Lawrence exhibit at Magdalene College's old library (August 2023), which notes his presence at & as an alumnus of that college? Did he therefore study at two Oxford colleges -- Jesus and Magdalene?.... Oh yes at 15.04 min, R. Stewart did note Lawrence "moved from Jesus to Magdalene" (perhaps for a graduate degree)
and, Jesus, we got Nadine Dorries...
Arabist Anthony Nutting's bio is still one of the Best.
And Mr Stewart if you need support and help in you future political ambitions let me know
Churchill's man was Sir Ernest Gower. Boris' search for the equivalent, the "geeks and weirdos", forgot the hammer of the desert, the privation which disposes of the dross. We do nothing to create this level of excellence, but instead drag it down so everyone is somebody, and no-one's anybody.
13:39 which young man in that photo of lawrence brothers is t. e. lawrence? the eldest?
15:36 two blokes in blazers … which one is lawrence?
Rory could never lead any current political party. He's far too decent a human being. Fascinating lecture.
His prose is enough to put him in Parnasus. The petty events of his busy life, less important.
Rory recently commented he was 50/50 about returning to politics.
I would very much I like see him back in harness, but I worry that his own side would not welcome a man of integrity and honour amongst a gang culture within the House, where such traits are today are sorely lacking and seen as a sign of weakness.
This was a superb presentation, but what is studiously missing is any reference to his personal life. Did Lawrence have intimate relationships with men, women and if so how did this shape his life and view of himself? He did have close friendships with other men, were these exclusively platonic, or sexual?
In his book "T.E. Lawrence" (pp 276-280), Desmond Stewart argues that Lawrence was a homosexual masochist who was aroused by being birched. My opinion of Lawrence's book "The Mint" is that it is memorable for its repressed homoeroticism. But whether that is relevant to Lawrence's career is perhaps debatable.
@@bikerpaul68 thank you for your insights! Are you a historian? An interest in this complex man?
@@juliancoulden1753 No, I'm not a historian, just a retired psychiatrist and gay sado-masochist. That's probably why I find Lawrence fascinating, although I would claim to understand only certain aspects of his personality.
@@bikerpaul68 ahaha a personal and professional interest!,
I don't understand how Eton College can on the one hand produce people like Rory Stewart and on the other people like Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and David Cameron.
from the point of view of ongoing generations of woe in the middle east that have resulted from the destruction of the Ottoman empire , TE Lawrence's heroism feels so awfully wasted , in service ultimately to the liberation only of Oil
10:34 That's a photograph of General Lord Rawlinson (1864-1925), not his father Sir Henry (1810-1895) to whom Stewart refers, & his attendant commentary mixes up 2 men erroneously into one.
I’ve always found something quasi-imperialistic about Rory’s love for t.e Lawrence… all about the well-educated, white British man who travels to the third world to provide them with guidance
Well - yes. Lawrence was the right man at the right time. Individual, perverse and rebellious enough to grasp the nettle and act outside of 'orders' (or certainly without 'permission') and well educated enough to understand the arabs at the time.
I have to think that Lawrence would (probably without stating it outright) have been contemptuous of certain aspects of "the Bloomsbury set". Such things as a couple of its members getting "conscientious objector" status during WWI because they had money or connections to those that did.
Hopefully, he‘ll get back into politics
Then Arabia, lost of her former splendours and world empire, under turkish rule, was poor. And Lawrence did not come to see her after the oil revenue rewards, which makes his piercing insights of the semite in the desert, even more interesting - to compare with their use of luxus and actual bonanza.
So is that a Lummi whale behind you? I think that in 1985, there was a Lummi Rhodes Scholar. Our trees are not strange--just tall, but you can share the sense of awe that James Cook must have felt while exploring the area. Oh dear, and here I thought Lawrence was a great translator of Classical Greek and student of architecture. How wrong I was.
Sadly Rory was also damaged in a Public School, called Eaton. Just like Cameron and Johnson.
3:34 a very near native pronunciation of Der’a
You are so much talented. your political failures got you on a better personal and professional position. try to focus on your own worldvision. I, WE support you. any podcast? keep safe, keep well.
I think the error when dealing with TE Lawrence is mistaking the accidental for planning. If one drew one of those graphs we're so fond today of his life's trajectory pre-war where would he be in 1925. I suggest he would be low to mid level civil servant, lecturer in one of the empires universities or a monastery. That he was temperamentally in tune to the extent he was able to guide the Arabian nomads would suggest a path within the post war empire would be sticky indeed.
Imagine coming back to hear how they faun over you,?
Perhaps Lawrence didn’t feel personally judged by the Arabs, felt comfortable in the company of Arab men, felt comfortable outside the confines of British social and cultural norms. He could be a free spirit and allow his deep emotions to have expression. I’ve not read about or researched his life, so I’m simply imagining and going on what I’ve heard. I’m curious why Rory didn’t once touch on Lawrence most basic drives - his sexuality. He was attracted to the same sex. Arabia at that time would have been a place where such same sex encounters would have been much more the norm and part of the culture.
You've explained it well, but I've never read in any of the books about Lawrence any suggestion that he was "flaky" so that came as a surprise. But you failed to mention that he twice changed his name to keep as far away from the limelight as possible after the War..and the name Lawrence.
Florence on Lawrence
Power makes possible idiosyncratic behaviour. The Empire was monolithic power - or at least its officials were encouraged to believe that and supported each other through their behaviour showing adherence to that?
Is it just me, or does Rory resemble Lawrence?
Jesus of Nazareth and his influence on T.E.Lawrence ?
The referenced Jesus I s the name of the college he attended in Oxford. A magnificent portrait of Lawrence hangs over high table at Jesus College.
Far from the Desert...
And to reduce him - who does it, if someone does it - to Lawrence of Arabia, is a vulgarity. Thomas Edward Lawrence, has his own place amidst the english poets and writers.
so Burnes is possibly the model of "Kim" other than Kipling playing on himself. Kim didn't have to be of mixed cultural parentage, just somebody who resembled a shadow that flitted in and out between two cultural antagonistic powers with great perspicacity. Kipling saw himself as a social misfit whether at school, India, New England, etc. It's blatantly obvious because although he might write of British soldiers/ colonists as subjects; they are the subject of criticism, incompetence and usually inflicting misery on others-- even the Mongoose Rikki-Tikki and the misplaced expat American muskrat in India, are bigger heroes in defeating the dangerous Nag/ Nagaina than the imperialist colonial defender of the family. I think for Lawrence as with Kipling, writing is the camera which sees the immense backdrop of on which the drama of history is played. The same criticism lodged at Lawrence for being a liar can be directed at any modern news organization because the viewer forgets or is oblivious to the intention, the editing, the selection, sponsorship, producer, etc... perhaps Lawrence could be more easily compared to Tacitus in trying to weave the tapestry of history for us to see. If Lawrence was keen observer of architecture and cultural influences, he looks for the bones and details of things that most observers would not see.
That bit about how Edwardian women can get what they want by pretending their husband thought of it = can't say it's changed all that much!
I like Rory Stewart as a man. As politician he’s unfortunately not charismatic enough as modern politician. To be top operator you need to have it all handsome eloquent A leader of men/ women wily slightly devious unfortunately and ruthless. Have a version of what and how you see your countries future . Great orator in the art of Rhetoric, a soldier a battle harden leader. We don’t have men of that quality to day extremely rare like rocking horse shit!
They only come along once in many lifetimes. Sadly they’re lacking in modern politicians. Years ago we had men who’d fought in the Second World War who became politicians men of integrity and moral fibre. Rory has many of those qualities but certainly not all he lacks real charisma. Shame near but still so far!
What, in your view, counts as real charisma? Could you give a post 2000 example? Certainly Rory's not sufficiently populist and a bit too Old Etonian, but I'd vote for him over the current lot in a heartbeat.
Very interesting but it excludes part of Lawrence’s motivations: his sexuality. In the UK at that time his sexual interests would have led him into serious trouble, (then as now),whereas in Arabia he could indulge his peccadillos freely.
Lawrence was not quite psychotic enough to fully realize his delusions Close, but not enough.