Yeah, I looked it up...it's an Aesop's fable. Shame on me for not being up on ol' Aesop...I haven't read any of his stuff since elementary school.
You're right...I don't think it means what Alex thinks it means, because we're not begrudging him his cowardice, we're merely calling him on it. He can be a chickensh*t all he wants, and given that yellow streak running down his back, I'd rather not have him around when the fun starts, anyway.
I'm not sure if it's something that Gen. George S. Patton actually said, but I love the line from the movie, "My sole purpose was to try to restore in him some sense of appreciation of his obligations as a man and as a soldier. 'If one could shame a coward,' I felt, 'one might help him to regain his self-respect.'" Maybe that's all we can do...shame a coward into appreciating his obligations as an American. I doubt it, but just maybe.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
“...shame a coward into appreciating his obligations as an American...”
I think that particular horse left the barn a long time ago, wku... with a contrail behind it.
Woof woof! Your Friendly Neighborhood Rottweiler In The Manger.