Thursday, September 20, 2007

Bouncing Back From a Mistake


September 20, 2007


“I do not measure a man’s success by how high he climbs, but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.” These words, spoken by General George Patton of the WWII Allied Command, have certainly taken new meaning for defining successful leadership.

First example: my high school alma mater. As a former-student-turned-new-teacher, I rejoined a group of old faces under a new role. It was an elating experience to work with all these men and women who I had grown to admire over the years, most especially my former high school principal who was now superintendent. He was a tall, commanding, well spoken fellow who could sell you salt water at the beach or find endlessly great qualities in students I believed were products of Satan.

And then he was pulled over for a DUI.

It was news; big news. And as the stories and allegations built like bricks on a wall, I watched this man I had revered crumble. His clout, his prestige, his optimism – they all waned as the days grew long. He had climbed mighty high at our district, but when it came to bouncing, the direness of the situation provided our school district’s leader the springiness of Play-Doh. So he resigned.

Second example: as you may know, a similar story now exists on the hills of Bloomsburg University. In 2006, students elected a well qualified, compassionate leader to represent the best interests of the 7,000+ students that call the school home. Thinking that they made a mistake is as ridiculous as asking our school district’s board if they wish they had gone with a different superintendent. In both cases, the electors selected who they found to be the best man for the job.

But to find no fault in these two cases is naïve. The mistake certainly lays in their actions. Sure, a sizable portion of Americans might drive under the influence, but that never makes it right. It is a danger to drive drunk to one’s own safety, and, more so, the safety of innocent others. This article is not intended to right that wrong nor apologize for any one’s actions.

The point to this article is to prove that wrongs, whatever they may be, can be righted. Our former superintendent is doing everything in his power to reclaim that sizable spot in the sun his presence once occupied. Don’t expect anything less than your Student President to do the same.

Remember, the only way to measure your leader’s success is how high he bounces once he hits bottom. I wish your leader the recoil of a bed spring, but in the case that he can’t bounce back, I wish him the resolve of Gen. George Patton in his future endeavors.


Jake Miller ‘05
Teacher, Panther Valley High School

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Today's partisans forget Constitution's lessons


Allentown Morning Call

Two-hundred and twenty years ago, a motley collection of 55 newly anointed Americans dedicated themselves not to fixing our national government, but creating a new (and revolutionary) one. Seeking to replace the failing Articles of Confederation, our Founding Fathers longed to provide for a more perfect union. Surely one has heard the Constitution Convention's truthful fables -- a sweltering Philadelphia summer coupled with the windows and doors shut tight, debates lasting six hours at a time, delegates laboring for 14 hours a day, six days a week. Yet even though there were flaws in the new document (slavery of course the most prominent), its adoption through compromise is something that deserves adoration, especially when compared to our current world.

Today, compromise is no longer a means of survival; it is blasphemy. The political divide that separates us has become something we cannot bridge because the ''R'' or ''D'' on our voting ticket is more important than being an American.

Examine any issue -- abortion, illegal immigration, Social Security -- and one will find a political partition where there's no middle ground and no solution. Today's government has become more of an exclamation (''I'm more right than you are!'') than collaboration (''How can we work together on this?'').

Asking a Democrat to compromise with a Republican is almost an open invitation to a liberal lynching. For example, when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., cooperated with President Bush to extend our terrorist wiretapping system, war-protester Cindy Sheehan announced she would run for Rep. Pelosi's seat because Pelosi obliged President Bush rather than impeached him.

Asking a Republican to compromise with a Democrat is the equivalent to heresy. When Sen. Arlen Specter prodded former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales about his elusiveness in the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys, Republicans held Specter in contempt. Despite his attempts to uncover the truth for Americans, he was harangued by his own party. Ironically enough, Gonzales stepped down Monday on the anniversary of the U.S. Constitution.

Will Sept. 17 remain a day where we celebrate one of the world's greatest governmental compromises, or will it be a day where we one day mourn its death?

I often wonder what it would be like if George Washington's hand were able to comfort President Bush's shoulder during tough times, with the first president saying, ''It is okay to work in the middle, because it is in the middle that often benefits most Americans.''

Or if John Adams and Thomas Jefferson -- fierce political opponents and yet the closest of friends on their deathbeds -- could address current-day Congress, how would they stress the importance of compromise?

It is hard to imagine it doing anything but help.