Occasionally we must elevate our conversation. Sometimes we have to lift our heads from our day-to-day lives and think about who we are and what we stand for.
Now I am not anyone’s judge, nor do I intend to be. I am a flawed man with my own shortcomings that I struggle with. Nonetheless we must occasionally discuss the values and principals we profess to live by, or else we risk loosing them.
Honor: Good name or public esteem, a showing of usually merited respect, faithfulness to high moral standards.
Synonyms include; honesty, integrity, righteousness, and uprightness.
Antonyms include; baseness, dishonor, lowness, corruption, depravity, disgrace, sinfulness, wretchedness.
Duty: obligatory tasks, conduct, service or functions that arise from one’s position. A moral or legal obligation. Something one must do because of prior agreement.
Synonyms include; burden, charge, commitment, incumbency.
Antonyms include; exemption, waiver and loophole.
Trust: firm belief in the integrity, ability, effectiveness, or genuineness of someone or something. Responsibility for the safety and well-being of someone or something. The assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. One in which confidence is placed.
Synonyms include; confidence, credence, faith.
Antonyms include; distrust, skepticism, suspicion, disenchantment.
Integrity: firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values: incorruptibility: an unimpaired condition. Conduct that conforms to an accepted standard of right and wrong, devotion to telling the truth, faithfulness to high moral standards.
Synonyms include; character, decency, goodness, honesty, righteousness, uprightness, virtue, truthfulness.
Antonyms include; badness, evil, immorality, sin, wickedness, villainy, crookedness, deception, meanness, insidiousness, treacherousness, deceitfulness.
Ask yourself, are we living to these principals that we set for ourselves, are we even trying to anymore? Do we live to these values if we manipulate a staffing system for our personal financial gain? Do we live to these standards when we are silent about the same? Do we live to these standards when we accept manipulations and half-truths from our leaders?
Many among us have accepted the praise and high respect we were given after September 11th that was earned from the blood and sacrifice of others. Respect we really did nothing to earn. Shortly after 9-11 at the dedication of Station 5, as the commander of our Honor Guard I gave a short speech acknowledging these very facts. In that speech I thanked the public for their praise and support, and promised that from that day until my last day in the fire service I would do all that I could to earn what they had given us, because it had come at such a high price. I guess that is part of what drives me. I promised never to forget. When our actions no longer reflect our words we must take notice, we must look inward and reflect on what we are doing, where we are going, and how we conduct ourselves while doing it.
We are heading into some even more trying times than the last few years have been. What kind of people will we be on the other side? Will we be the kind of people who stand in the furnace, and account for our actions, or will we run and hide from the truth. Will we try to find loopholes and rationalize our conduct, or will we hold the line accept the consequences?
In my life I have learned that loyalty is simply a choice, and one must not remain loyal to someone or something that has been corrupted, and refuses to accept it and work to change. I have learned that loyalty is a choice, and doing the right thing is a matter of character.
Who will we be in two years? The choice is ours. Will we be the people who stood against our neighbors for our own selfish interest, or will we be the people who helped each other. Will we choose to preserve our country for the benefit of all? Will we choose to side with those who want to destroy our economic system, so our leadership can maintain their influence and prestige, at the detriment of all.
Honor, Duty, Trust and Integrity are not just words printed on our shirts, hats and fire trucks. They are words we are supposed to live by. It may be difficult but I believe, no, I KNOW we are up to the challenge. If we cannot get our leadership to understand this, then they must go.
The truth is we can stand up and do the right thing at the local level, we do not need the IAFF and we do not need the AFL CIO. That is the truth they so desperately do not want you to see, WE DON’T NEED THEM, THEY NEED US. With out us they are nothing. With out us they have no power to accomplish anything. If you look, you will see, they long ago stopped looking out for your interest, how much longer will you remain silent and support theirs.
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