Monday, December 30, 2019

We the willing, led by the unknowing

Someone in the military mentioned a saying:
We the willing,
led by the unknowing,
are doing the impossible
for the ungrateful.
We have done so much,
with so little,
for so long,
we are now qualified to do anything,
with nothing.
A little googling indicates it seems to be commonly attributed to Mother Teresa but with no attribution or sourcing.

Quote Investigator notes
This expression is difficult to trace because it is highly malleable.
However, they trace its likely origins back to the US military, likely in World War II. It has continued to circulate in various formulations and with innumerable murky attributions for the decade since.

It has a vague echo of the old World War adage describing the British enlisted as "Lions led by donkeys." An adage with its own history.

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