Patrick Tillman was born in San Jose in 1976 and was a successful student and football player winning a scholarship to Arizona State University and later playing for the Arizona Cardinals.
Despite his success he was known for being humble and community-minded.
After the 9/11 attacks Tillman joined the U.S. Army with his brother.
He sadly died in Afghanistan due to friendly fire.
His values and dedication to service live on through the Pat Tillman Foundation.
Related: Roger Staubach Quotes from the American Footballer and Manny Diaz Quotes from the American Football Coach
In this article, I have compiled the best quotes by Pat Tillman.
Best Pat Tillman Quotes
To err on the side of passion is human and right and the only way I’ll live. ~ Pat Tillman.
And I really haven’t done a damn. ~ Pat Tillman.
The truth is not what we received today. Once again, we are being used as props in a Pentagon public relations exercise. ~ Pat Tillman.
Somewhere inside, we hear a voice. It leads us in the direction of the person we wish to become. But it is up to us whether or not to follow. ~ Pat Tillman.
Passion is kind of an important word for me, whether it’s playing sports or whether it’s just living or whatever you’re going to do. In my opinion, you should be passionate about it or else, why do it? ~ Pat Tillman.
The sad end he met in Afghanistan was more accurately a function of his stubborn idealism – his insistence on trying to do the right thing. In which case it wasn’t a tragic flaw that brought Tillman down, but a tragic virtue. ~ Pat Tillman.
Pat Tillman Quotes From “Where Men Win Glory” Book
Many decisions are made in our lifetime, Most relatively insignificant while others life altering. ~ Jon Krakauer (Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman).
According to Fukuyama, modern liberal democracies produced men composed entirely of desire and reason, clever at finding new ways to satisfy a host of petty wants through the calculation of long-term self-interest…. It is not an accident that people in democratic societies are preoccupied with material gain and live in an economic world devoted to the satisfaction of the myriad small needs of the body…. The last man at the end of history knows better than to risk his life for a cause, because he recognizes that history was full of pointless battles in which men fought. ~ Jon Krakauer (Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman).
There are no true answers, just shades of grey, coincidence, and circumstance. ~ Jon Krakauer (Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman).
In the West, we are perilously getting down to our last man. Liberal democracy, among us, is achieving the goal that Fukuyama predicted for it: It is eliminating the alpha males from our midst, and at a dizzyingly accelerating rate. But in Muslim societies, the alpha male is still alive and well. While we in America are drugging our alpha boys with Ritalin, the Muslims are doing everything in their power to encourage their alpha boys to be tough, aggressive, and ruthless…. We are proud if our sons get into a good college; they are proud if their sons die as martyrs. To rid your society of high-testosterone alpha males may bring peace and quiet; but if you have an enemy that is building up an army of alpha boys to hate you fanatically and who have vowed to destroy you, you will be committing suicide…. The end of testosterone in the West alone will not culminate in the end of history, but it may well culminate in the end of the West. ~ Jon Krakauer (Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman).
There is an overwhelming inclination to keep the unsavory particulars hidden from public view, to pretend the calamity never occurred. Thus it has always been, and probably always will be. As Aeschylus, the illustrious Greek tragedian, noted in the fifth century B.C., “In war, truth is the first casualty. ~ Jon Krakauer (Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman).
Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles. ~ Jon Krakauer (Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman).
Chaos is indeed the normal state of affairs on the battleground, and no army has figured out a way to plan effectively for, let alone alleviate, the so-called fog of war. When the military is confronted with the fratricidal carnage that predictably results, denial and dissembling are its time-honored responses of first resort. ~ Jon Krakauer (Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman).
In the West, we are perilously getting down to our last man. Liberal democracy, among us, is achieving the goal that Fukuyama predicted for it: It is eliminating the alpha males from our midst, and at a dizzyingly accelerating rate. But in Muslim societies, the alpha male is still alive and well. While we in America are drugging our alpha boys with Ritalin, the Muslims are doing everything in their power to encourage their alpha boys to be tough, aggressive, and ruthless…. We are proud if our sons get into a good college; they are proud if their sons die as martyrs. To rid your society of high-testosterone alpha males may bring peace and quiet; but if you have an enemy that is building up an army of alpha boys to hate you fanatically and who have vowed to destroy you, you will be committing suicide…. ~ Jon Krakauer (Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman).
The truth of war is not always easy. The truth is always more heroic than the hype. ~ Jon Krakauer (Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman).
In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche introduced the concept of the Übermensch: an exemplary, transcendent figure who is the polar opposite of “the last man” or “men without chests.” The Übermensch is virtuous, loyal, ambitious and outspoken, disdainful of religious dogma and suspicious of received wisdom, intensely engaged in the hurly-burly of the real world. Above all he is passionate—a connoisseur of both “the highest joys” and “the deepest sorrows.” He believes in the moral imperative to defend (with his life, if necessary) ideals such as truth, beauty, honor, and justice. He is self-assured. He is a risk taker. He regards suffering as salutary, and scorns the path of least resistance. ~ Jon Krakauer (Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman).
Pat was a serious listener. He was one of the first people who really challenged my ideas: ‘Do you really believe that? Why? Don’t accept everything you read. You should question it all, take what makes sense, and throw away the rest.’ He was constantly asking, ‘Did you ever consider this? What about that?’ He changed the way I thought. (quoting Russell Baer, Army Ranger.) ~ Jon Krakauer (Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman).
War is always about betrayal, betrayal of the young by the old, of idealists by cynics and of troops by politicians. ~ Jon Krakauer (Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman).
But the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude…. ~ Jon Krakauer (Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman).
So these were the top 20 Pat Tillman quotes on war and life in general.
If you like these quotes and sayings, then you can also read my other posts on Passive Income quotes and Norm Crosby quotes.
