Professionalism
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Lessons To Be Learned
January 12, 2011
Last week, the Department of Defense relieved Navy Captain Owen Honors of his command after some “raunchy” videos were splashed across TV and computer screens everywhere. Owens had a long and distinguished military record. I haven’t seen them, but according to most news reports, the videos, produced five years ago when Honors was a submarine’s executive officer, included masturbation and sexist jokes, gay slurs, and lots of cursing, especially the F-bomb.
Soon after his dismissal, someone created the “Support Captain Owen Honors” Facebook page. More than 20,000 quickly signed up as fans. Supporters said Honors had simply sought to boost the morale of his crew, who lived in a stressful, otherworldly environment. Others shrugged their shoulders and dismissed the videos as yet another example of “boys will be boys.”
I can’t speak to the effectiveness of Honors’ videos as a morale booster. But I find the “boys will be boys” response to be utterly ridiculous. Yes, eight year-old boys can be expected to behave like 8 year-old boys. However, Captain Honors is an adult, serving in a leadership position. We should hold such people to a higher standard. We have a right to expect that officers will also be gentlemen.
As of last Friday, I had intended only to blog on the Honors story this week. Then, the Arizona shooting, which left Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in critical condition, claimed the lives of six others, and wounded 14 more, took place. In its aftermath, many have asked whether the vitriolic political rhetoric of the past several years could be blamed for the actions of 22 year-old Jared Loughner, a mentally unstable person.
In this case, I think it unlikely that we will ever be able to prove direct cause and effect. Yet, no one can deny that some within the political arena have chartered a course that was bound to spark a fire within some lunatic’s mind. Last fall, one well-known Republican tweeted, “Don’t retreat, Instead – RELOAD,” and some Democrats joined in the gun-slinging rhetoric. One candidate for governor even televised an ad in which he literally shot at cap and trade legislation.
This needs to stop. Collectively, we need to put an end to it.
My father was a strong believer in the 2nd Amendment. In fact, he wanted all of his children, daughters included, to know how to shoot a gun. However, before he placed a gun in any of our hands, he made a point of saying, “Never point a gun at anything unless you intend to shoot and kill it.” He clearly communicated that a gun was not a toy. Use of one, he knew, could produce fatal results.
Now, we must hold responsible those who practice their 1st Amendment right of free speech. Like guns, words can be dangerous weapons. They can incite people to riot. They can flame the fans of bigotry and prejudice. They can encourage a crazy person to pick-up a gun.
As a country, we are better than Captain Honors, and we are better than the politicians who shoot off their mouths for nothing more than personal and political gain. It is past time that we hold others and ourselves to a higher standard.
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