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
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