CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT



“If you cannot treat someone with dignity and respect –
then, you need to get out.
If you cannot treat someone from another gender, whether that’s a man or a woman, with dignity and respect –
then, you need to get out.
If you demean someone in anyway –
then, you need to get out.
And, if you can’t treat someone from another race or of a different colour skin, with dignity and respect –
then, you need to get out.”

Do you want to know who said this? Watch this…






About three years ago, when Lt. Gen. Jay B. Silveria, the Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy, stood before his staff, coaches and cadets – over five thousand of them – to let all of them know what it took to ‘develop character’ and grow to be a ‘leader with heart’. He was responding to a disturbing incident at the academy… A couple of Afro-American cadets had been the target of a racial slur… The poison was spit on the room-doors of these Black cadets!

Imagine this: these young cadets of the mightiest Air Force on earth, eventually, would assume the top positions in the US defence force. And, with this kind of poisonous and divisive mindset, what would be the fate of the country’s defence force? Who would they defend? What would they defend? Lt. General Silveria was concerned about it, and he wanted to nip the poison in the bud. He was clear on one thing: “If you are a racist, you need to get out!”

This three-year-old video has been resurrected now and being circulated all around. And, yes, for the right reason. The George Floyd incident is only the tripping point… The anger, sadness and helplessness have been boiling for decades and centuries!

The seeds of poison have been so deeply sown in the Society, that it’s impossible to undo them completely… It’s impossible to find a basket of only good apples… There will always be some bad ones in the basket. Just as there will be good cops and bad cops in the police force. This is going to be so everywhere, in the Society, including homes and holy places. Even, Jesus Christ had a Judas among his twelve disciples! So, it’s naïve to imagine a world forever free of human bias and poison.

Yes, this Post is about the brighter side of this reality… The good cops will always outnumber the bad ones… The good apples will always outnumber the bad ones… The strength will always outweigh the weakness. Yes, more people will always believe, that strength, beauty and healing come through diversity and love.  









Brute force is the weapon of a weak and insecure leader. Dictators and Fascists are weak and insecure. Only heart force, truly, wins. It takes character and humility to go on one’s knees, repent and pray… It takes a true leader!

The world sees this truth today, more than ever before!



GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Andre Furtado

 Videos: 1. syracuse.com 2. Lexington Herald Leader 3. A & E

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