Both Patton and General Douglas MacArthur were considered Prima Donnas. Google defines prima donna as, “A very temperamental person with an inflated view of their own talent or importance.” Or, “Anyone who acted as if they were a world-famous talent.” But the irony is they were, indeed, “world-famous talents.” They were two of the most effective and successful combat leaders the world has EVER known. Yet many observers considered them “arrogant pretenders” nevertheless, and despised them for being so. Is this an example of “faking it ’til you make it,” and how much of this behavior was engaged in fully for “effect” but did not, in fact, reflect the men privately? What is Creator’s perspective?

It is important to note that both these individuals were, indeed, human and knew the difference between success and failure, and understood what was at stake and expected of them and knew that they would be judged harshly, not only for perceived failure but perceived weakness. There were, indeed, times when they acted in an excessive fashion to exert their power and influence by cowing those around them through a display of bluster, arrogance, and excessive criticism. As such, they were feared and hated as much as admired by those they led, and there was an awareness on the part of both generals, that could be considered cleverness, that they could put on a show in demonstrating a fit of pique and get people to hop to it, quickly go into action, to deal with his criticism and get things done. At the same time, it cemented their reputation as demanding taskmasters with high standards with a lack of reluctance to crack the whip if need be. Given they were many times leading men into combat that was a dreadful experience, and sometimes as likely as not to be fatal, they knew it was essential to be respected by their troops, and if not respected then feared so they would follow orders and not bolt. So we would say that one must look through a historical lens and consider the times and the roles played by these two military commanders under the most trying circumstances. Their place in history was, indeed, larger than life and demanded the utmost energy, commitment, cunning, and at times ruthless determination to set a tone of inevitability that what he was asking had to be done and, in that passion, conveying an expectation it would ultimately be successful and, as a military leader, they were highly effective in getting their job done.