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By Bobby Halton |
It’s interesting today to see how people react to one another’s opinions. Some people are very open and willing to listen to others’ opinions, and others-not so much. As firefighters, it’s important that we have open minds, open hearts, and a tremendous capacity for tolerance of others. The great Tommy Brennan once said that “nobody had to be wrong” for him to be right. That meant that everybody had a right to their opinion whether you agreed with it or not. Tommy taught us respect is expected from every firefighter.
Because of the nature of our systems, career firefighters need to live with one another in close quarters, and volunteer firefighters often socialize regularly to keep relationships strong and friendships healthy. During these times, there are often discussions on a wide variety of topics; for firefighters, generally nothing is off the table. There is an old saying that a gentleman doesn’t discuss religion or politics in polite settings. This is not a reasonable expectation for firefighters.
The issue is not so much the discussions or the topics; the issue is how we conduct the discussions. Unfortunately, there is a growing adoption by society in general that is championed by our elite political class of a very cruel and brutal debate system designed to minimize and ridicule people who disagree with your position or ideology. This was developed by a community organizer named Saul Alinsky and outlined in his book Rules for Radicals.
It is a horrible and damaging methodology. The premise is to isolate, minimalize, ridicule, and discredit the other person so as to diminish that person’s opinion and elevate your own. The goal is to win at all costs and that the end justifies the means. To a value-based firefighter, nothing could be further from the truth: The means must always be honorable; if not, the end is just as dishonorable.
There could be no system of debate or discourse that is more unproductive, more ungentlemanly and ungentlewomanly, or more unappealing than that which is put forth in Rules for Radicals. For example, one rule states, “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Cut off the support network, and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions.
Another rule is just as demeaning and abusive: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating.
There is a great need for us to share our opinions, to have intense and passionate discussions about the issues and concerns that face us as a profession. To have those discussions, we must be willing to hear the opinions of others, try as best we can to understand those opinions, and then respectfully state our concerns with them or our opposition to them in a way that is not offensive or minimizing or abusive.
The issues we need to discuss have to do with tactics, culture, politics, and a wide variety of social and professional issues that span everything from soup (what’s for dinner) to nuts (some of our favorite people). We also need to be mindful that the fire service is not a homogenous or monolithic profession. Among us are many diverse cultures, many religious backgrounds, and many social differences.
In our ranks are conservative firefighters; liberal firefighters; male firefighters; female firefighters; gay firefighters; straight firefighters; union and nonunion firefighters; volunteer and career firefighters; and Republicans, Libertarians, and Democrats. There is no one single model that defines the American firefighter. We are truly a reflection of that great American melting pot that began many years before our nation was even founded.
Our diversity is the basis of our strength; coupled with our local foundations, we have consistently been the answers to our communities’ local emergency needs-answers that, as firefighters, we have been honored to deliver with compassion, humility, and grace; answers that we found by debating respectfully and sharing our opinions courageously with one another.
What compels us is the mission; what unifies us are our cultural values. By staying true to our values and always putting the mission first, we can discuss virtually any topic without becoming rude or insensitive, without becoming abusive or cruel, and without becoming-in a word-unbecoming. Always try to see the value in people’s opinion, no matter how offensive you might find it. You will never lose their respect for you, which allows them to hear the value in your position.
Firefighters must have the courage to oppose those behaviors that do not reflect our values but do reflect recklessness, bullying, and thoughtlessness. Every firefighter has the duty to express their opinions, every firefighter should have the personal courage to express their beliefs, every firefighter should respect the opinions of others, every firefighter should have the loyalty to defend the opinions of others, every firefighter should have the integrity to express their opinion honestly, and every firefighter should provide that selfless service of defending the honor of those who will not be silenced.
Perhaps the fire service could engender society to adopt a new system for discussion. Perhaps it could be called Rules from Firefighters. Our rules would include always be kind, never ridicule anyone’s opinion, and never isolate or personalize any disagreement. Among the many things we have sworn to defend, we must surely include the right of all to have their opinions heard and respected without fear of ridicule or abuse.
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