--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Just one more example of why a commander…" description: "\"“Just one more example of why a commander who ruled by fear and made all the decisions himself would always be beaten, sooner or later.”\" — Orson Scott..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48f/orson-scott-card-134_commander_just-one-more-example-of-why-a-commander_2847444.png" --- # Just one more example of why a commander who ruled by fear… ![“Just one more example of why a commander who ruled by fear and made all the decisions himself would always be beaten, sooner or later.” quote by Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48f/orson-scott-card-134_commander_just-one-more-example-of-why-a-commander_2847444.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48f/orson-scott-card-134_commander_just-one-more-example-of-why-a-commander_2847444.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48f/orson-scott-card-134_commander_just-one-more-example-of-why-a-commander_2847444.png) > ““Just one more example of why a commander who ruled by fear and made all the decisions himself would always be beaten, sooner or later.”” [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A fear‑driven leader who centralizes decisions will eventually be defeated. **In simple terms:** Fearful commanders are doomed. Key Takeaway Promote collaborative leadership. Themes leadership fear collaboration Mood cautionary analytical Type philosophical strategic When to use this quote - team management - military training Key Concepts authoritarianism strategic defeat Questions to Reflect On - How does fear affect decision quality? - What are alternatives to centralized command? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex conflicts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Sooner or later](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sooner-or-later/) ## Related quotes > [“We should be more concerned with being ruled by fear than we are with being ruled by our imaginations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-mapes/we-should-be-more-concerned-with-being-ruled-by-fear-than-we-are-with/) Gregory Mapes > [If we look at human society we see a place so difficult to live in because it is ruled by fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-angel-ruiz/if-we-look-at-human-society-we-see-a-place-so-difficult-to-live-in/) [Miguel Angel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-angel-ruiz/) > [“The rulers were using ancient knowledge to manipulate the amygdaloidal primal fear. They ruled through fear, preternatural fear created through soft, invisible waves designed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amira-aly/the-rulers-were-using-ancient-knowledge-to-manipulate-the/) Amira Aly > [When men are ruled by fear, they strive to prevent the very changes that will abate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-paton/when-men-are-ruled-by-fear-they-strive-to-prevent-the-very-changes/) [Alan Paton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-paton/) > [I don't believe you should be ruled by fear in anything in life. I don't like anything that scares me. I prefer to face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anderson-cooper/i-don-t-believe-you-should-be-ruled-by-fear-in-anything-in-life-i-don/) [Anderson Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anderson-cooper/) > [I don't like seeing talented storytellers ruled by fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lexi-alexander/i-don-t-like-seeing-talented-storytellers-ruled-by-fear/) [Lexi Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lexi-alexander/) > [“It had to be a trick or you couldn’t have done it. It’s the bind we were in. We had to have a commander…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/it-had-to-be-a-trick-or-you-couldn-t-have-done-it-it-s-the-bind-we/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Maezr smiled. "A hundred years ago, Ender, we found out some things. That when a commander's life is in danger he becomes afraid, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/maezr-smiled-a-hundred-years-ago-ender-we-found-out-some-things-that/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“We're going to make him the best military commander in history. And then put the fate of the world on his shoulders.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-going-to-make-him-the-best-military-commander-in-history-and/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Is it some law of human nature that you inevitably become whatever your first commander was?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/is-it-some-law-of-human-nature-that-you-inevitably-become-whatever/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/he-who-has-never-learned-to-obey-cannot-be-a-good-commander/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The commander of the forces of a large State may be carried off, but the will of even a common man cannot be taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-commander-of-the-forces-of-a-large-state-may-be-carried-off-but/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Through my time in the military and my deployments, I have recognized the importance of having a Commander in Chief who will not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/through-my-time-in-the-military-and-my-deployments-i-have-recognized/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [No commander in chief would ever say, 'I'm not going to listen to the guys on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/no-commander-in-chief-would-ever-say-i-m-not-going-to-listen-to-the/) [Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/) > [“the only real owner of anything is its commander;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-only-real-owner-of-anything-is-its-commander/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) ## More by Orson Scott Card > [“You underestimate yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/you-underestimate-yourself/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Why did he hesitate? He finally admitted to himself that he was like an American child who was almost completely certain about Santa Claus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/why-did-he-hesitate-he-finally-admitted-to-himself-that-he-was-like/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“I don't know of a soul who doesn't maintain two separate lists of doctrines - the ones they believe they believe; and the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-don-t-know-of-a-soul-who-doesn-t-maintain-two-separate-lists-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Good people do not let others suffer needlessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/good-people-do-not-let-others-suffer-needlessly/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“The devil?” Jason heaved the tick over his shoulder like a collier with his sack. “Satan. The adversary. The enemy of the plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-devil-jason-heaved-the-tick-over-his-shoulder-like-a-collier-with/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“What we've done is make the categories of science fiction and fantasy larger, freer, and more inclusive than any other genre of contemporary literature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/what-we-ve-done-is-make-the-categories-of-science-fiction-and-fantasy/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Where ideas are real and reality is shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-ideas-are-real-and-reality-is-shadow/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Ender, for the past few months you have been the battle commander of our fleets. This was the Third Invasion. There were no games,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/ender-for-the-past-few-months-you-have-been-the-battle-commander-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Science fiction is about what could be but isn't; fantasy is about what couldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/science-fiction-is-about-what-could-be-but-isn-t-fantasy-is-about/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Knowledge is just opinion that you trust enough to act upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/knowledge-is-just-opinion-that-you-trust-enough-to-act-upon/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Of course they accused Marcão of having done it without provocation—that’s the way of torturers of every age, to put the blame on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/of-course-they-accused-marc-o-of-having-done-it-without-provocation/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Where did this whole thing begin? If what we think of as reality is just a pattern that somebody brought Outside, and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-did-this-whole-thing-begin-if-what-we-think-of-as-reality-is/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) [Explore all 1,158 Orson Scott Card quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More Commander quotes > [“the only real owner of anything is its commander;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-only-real-owner-of-anything-is-its-commander/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [No commander in chief would ever say, 'I'm not going to listen to the guys on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/no-commander-in-chief-would-ever-say-i-m-not-going-to-listen-to-the/) [Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/) > [Through my time in the military and my deployments, I have recognized the importance of having a Commander in Chief who will not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/through-my-time-in-the-military-and-my-deployments-i-have-recognized/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [The commander of the forces of a large State may be carried off, but the will of even a common man cannot be taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-commander-of-the-forces-of-a-large-state-may-be-carried-off-but/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/he-who-has-never-learned-to-obey-cannot-be-a-good-commander/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [My first job as commander in chief is to keep the American people safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/my-first-job-as-commander-in-chief-is-to-keep-the-american-people-safe/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“Oh,” Lewis said, “well if you won’t let us then— Wait…wait a minute….I’m looking at my shoulder patch and it turns out I’m the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-weir/oh-lewis-said-well-if-you-won-t-let-us-then-wait-wait-a-minute-i-m/) [Andy Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-weir/) > [Bill Clinton is not my commander-in-chief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-north/bill-clinton-is-not-my-commander-in-chief/) [Oliver North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-north/) > [America needs a Commander in Chief, not a Global Community Organizer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-cheney/america-needs-a-commander-in-chief-not-a-global-community-organizer/) [Liz Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-cheney/) > [The president of the United States is the commander in chief, and the people who work with him at the National Security Council are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/the-president-of-the-united-states-is-the-commander-in-chief-and-the/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [“Is it some law of human nature that you inevitably become whatever your first commander was?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/is-it-some-law-of-human-nature-that-you-inevitably-become-whatever/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/the-commander-in-the-field-is-always-right-and-the-rear-echelon-is/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [“Ex ‘Fleet man?” “He was a full Commander, last I heard, sir.” “Interesting.” Falconer commented. “Get me his specs. If I have to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-engela/ex-fleet-man-he-was-a-full-commander-last-i-heard-sir-interesting/) [Christina Engela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-engela/) > [“The great commander can certainly move fast and strike like lightning, but his art of war consists first and foremost in moderation, measured geometric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/the-great-commander-can-certainly-move-fast-and-strike-like-lightning/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) > [ One of the things I would immediately do \[as Commander in Chief \], in addition to defeating them here at home, is bring back… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/one-of-the-things-i-would-immediately-do-as-commander-in-chief-in/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) Browse all 177 Commander quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Just one more example of why a commander who ruled by fear and made all the decisions himself would always be beaten, sooner or later.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Orson Scott Card" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/just-one-more-example-of-why-a-commander-who-ruled-by-fear-and-made/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Commander" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/just-one-more-example-of-why-a-commander-who-ruled-by-fear-and-made/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48f/orson-scott-card-134_commander_just-one-more-example-of-why-a-commander_2847444.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48f/orson-scott-card-134_commander_just-one-more-example-of-why-a-commander_2847444.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48f/orson-scott-card-134_commander_just-one-more-example-of-why-a-commander_2847444.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Just one more example of why a commander who ruled by fear and made all the decisions himself would always…” — Orson Scott Card", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Orson Scott Card", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Just one more example of why...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/just-one-more-example-of-why-a-commander-who-ruled-by-fear-and-made/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/just-one-more-example-of-why-a-commander-who-ruled-by-fear-and-made/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```