Thomas Hobbes, a philosopher of the 1600s, wrote the following: “Hereby it is manifest that, during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war, and such a war as is of every man against every man.”
If, as the great Thomas Hobbes said, life is a war of every man against every man, then it is even more important that we, firefighters, and those who support and care for firefighters participate in proving that a meaningful life is really about mitigating that war in some small ways, in individual ways, ways that make life more secure, safer, and satisfying.
Today, the fire service finds itself in an interesting time, a time of great discovery and great debate, a time of tremendous advances and equally troubling criticisms. They say every generation has an opportunity to define itself; they say that every generation has a season, and that is true. But beyond that, great professions have more than seasons, more than generations; great callings like the military service, law enforcement, medicine, clergy, and most especially the fire service have a character for which they are known and for which they will always be known-and that character has traits and virtues that define it. It has principles and morals that constrain its participants and simultaneously liberate us in our endeavors to accomplish the dictates of our mission.
As we examine great firefighters, the enduring vision of each of them is that of a true firefighter and a gentleperson, that particular blend of authority and morality that connotes competence, good manners, restraint, and character. It becomes evident that how you conduct yourself in manners of honor, courage, and civility is dictated by your background and your education. Much of that education and training we receive from our parents. George Washington is noted for saying, “All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual, and physical education I received from her.”
A firefighter’s character should involve certain basic principles such as devotion to the mission, loyalty to our fellow firefighters, respect for authority, and desire to reflect the highest moral ideal. For us, for firefighters, that one principle which rises above all the others, that higher calling is simply that we will never under any circumstances ever leave anyone behind. The person who called us comes first, the person who needs us comes first, whether rich or poor, like us or different from us, mentally healthy or mentally ill, contributing to society or living off the generosity of society-we will leave no one behind. The motto of America’s Bravest is “Honor Before All,” “Honor Ante Omnia.”
To embrace this fire service character, we must believe in higher principles, greater ideals, and lofty considerations. Benjamin Disraeli once said, “Nurture your minds with great thoughts; to believe in the heroic makes heroes.” We can imbue firefighters with heroic dreams, and we can be symbols of honor and integrity to our communities and each other. Our industry has a tradition of heroism. It has often been remarked that the highest praise a firefighter can receive at retirement or death is that he lived and worked according to the best traditions of the fire service. In our tradition, the threatened, the needy, the desperate come first-in our tactics, in our strategy, and in all our considerations.
Almost 20 years ago, American fire service sage Tom Brennan issued a dire warning: “We are losing our fire service; it is time to take it back.” In response to Tom’s warning, little has been done, little has changed, and much has been lost. But it is not too late to repair. Fortunately, the bedrock principle of our beloved industry has not changed. It is still held dearly by all true firefighters; by those who Roosevelt coined “are in the arena”; by those Captain Hall said “so justly value their own true dignity of character”; who place so high a value on their virtue that all other inferior considerations pale on reflection and who have unflinchingly refused to be influenced by changing popular culture, faddish trends, and self-serving and self-proclaimed industry elite whims and fancies.
This principle that we leave no one behind, simplicity disguises its strength, its unquestionable goodness defies blemish, and its fundamental integrity subdues assaults. We will leave no one behind, not by intention or omission, not for self-preservation or self-interest, not physically, not emotionally, not spiritually, we will not leave anyone behind.
Ordinary firefighters understand this well and insist that the mission we have pledged our sacred honor to is not a suicidal one or a fatalistic one and that we never intend to place ourselves or anyone else in harm’s way haphazardly or casually. Rather, we profess that our mission is to care for, protect, and defend our fellow citizens’ lives, property, and material well-being in ways that have been carefully vetted, thoroughly examined, and diligently rehearsed in a wide variety of styles and situations. And in doing so, we pledge that we leave no one behind.
Firefighters are men and women who embody many exemplary virtues, but unquestionably our honor is utmost. The world trusts us implicitly to be colorblind, status neutral, gender indifferent, and unfalteringly trustworthy. Because we embrace “Honor Before All,” hopefully we can be the difference, the example, perhaps the exception; by being that symbol of humanity, we might soften or hopefully end the war Hobbes so eloquently depicted.
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