Courage and Undue Influence

Published: July 25, 2008

By Jim Lichtman
Image
Read More

The Washington Post reported (July 23) that the Government Accountability Office found that supervisors at the Pentagon pressured internal auditors “…to skew their reports on a major defense contractor’s work, hiding wrongdoing and charges of overbilling.”

Of course, whenever we hear another story detailing fraud and corruption in Washington it serves to strengthen the argument that everyone in Washington is corrupt.  And that’s simply not true.

While watching the movie, “Courage Under Fire,” I was struck by a curious juxtaposition to the auditors’ story.

In the 1996 film, Denzel Washington’s character, Lt. Col. Nat Serling is charged with investigating events surrounding a heroic act during the Gulf War.  On another level, the story has Serling struggling with his own integrity about his responsibility in a “friendly fire” incident in the same war, and the guilt he carries because the Army has covered up the truth about the incident to the dead soldier’s family.

The courage in the title refers to two different aspects of that quality: the physical courage taken by a field commander surrounded by enemy fire struggling to save the lives of a unit of men, and the moral courage it takes Washington’s character to stand up to the principles of his own conscience and tell the truth to the family who lost their son in combat.

I was thinking about this while I was reading how Defense auditors, “…charged with overseeing contractors… made an upfront agreement with ‘a major aerospace company’ to limit the scope of work and basis for an audit,” and thereby withheld the truth to the American public.

Another story (July 23) reported that “…former EPA deputy associate administrator Jason K. Burnett… divulged key details about how President Bush and his deputies have influenced the agency’s decisions on climate policy…”

Last month (June 24), “Investigators for the Justice Department’s Inspector General and the Office of Professional Responsibility, which oversees legal ethics, reviewed thousands of e-mail messages and conducted interviews with current and former officials, concluding that the hiring efforts ‘undermined confidence in the integrity of the department’s hiring processes.’”

In reading these stories, I kept wondering how difficult must it be, in the pressure-cooker of Washington, to do your job with integrity while avoiding undue influence and still have that job the next day?

Then I thought about the countless field commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan who, under constant pressure, make hundreds of decisions affecting the lives of thousands of combat troops every day.  If those decisions are not made with absolute integrity, people could needlessly die.

At first glance “Courage Under Fire” would appear to be about the valor necessary to do the right thing under extreme circumstances.  But it’s more than that.  It’s about loyalty, being faithful and committed not just to family, friends and country but to a principle of conduct.  It’s about duty to oneself and knowing that none of us can escape the accountability of his or her own conscience.  Ultimately, it’s about being honest even when everyone else, including your commanding general, wants you to look the other way.

It’s a timely reminder for all who serve in Washington of just how critical it is to act with absolute integrity even when pressured to do otherwise

Ethics is not a partisan issue.  It’s a credibility issue, and one that is vital when it comes to the trust and confidence of the American people.

In order to honor the thousands of dedicated men and women who serve our country we need to provide them with the kind of leadership the American people expect – a leadership committed to absolute integrity.

Comments

Leave a Comment



Read More Articles
The Latest... And Sometimes Greatest
The Right Stuff, The Right Way
“If there is one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s that a man’s judgment is no better than his information.”—John Glenn In an age...
June 16, 2025
It Can Happen Here
When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.—Derived from “It Can’t Happen Here” by Sinclair Lewis This...
June 13, 2025
The Call That May Never Have Happened—But Still Matters
It’s a story that’s made its way through online forums, Reddit threads, and grief support pages. No news articles. No official confirmation. And maybe that’s...
June 12, 2025
In Union There is Strength
Former Defense Secretary and retired Marine Corps General James Mattis has something to say. I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled. The...
June 11, 2025
A Day of Love—A Weekend of Force
Two images of the protests taking place in Los Angeles Donald Trump’s words are rarely accidental. His instinct for rhetorical impact—whether blunt force or performative...
June 7, 2025
It Just Doesn’t Stop
“If they can be charged, we’ll charge them. But if they can’t be charged, we will name them. And we will name them, and in...
June 5, 2025