Commentary & Reply  From Parameters,  Winter 2006-07, pp.
103-07.  Beware of Boldness  To the Editor:  Conrad Crane’s
article “Beware of Boldness” (Parameters, Summer 2006)
profoundly illustrates that the devil, is in deed, in the
definition. The author urges the reader to contest the Army’s
use of the word boldness as a positive character trait as it
encourages a culture of daring risk-taking, especially, at the
senior level. He uses his personal dictionary and a decidedly
subjective analysis of American military history to put forth
his case.  Generally, defining a word and historical research
would work well to establish meaning. Unfortunately, as in this
case, we also know that dictionaries differ and history has a
way of censoring contemporary values if not applied
appropriately. Continuing the author’s analytical process by
taking into account definition variances and by applying a more
circumspect application of history will bring us closer to the
correct answer.  To determine whether boldness is a pos