[October 17, 2014] Sound like sage advice? It should! But do people always adhere to it? Surprisingly, no … those traits that got them to a successful place in life – like dogged determination or never quitting – sometimes means when they find themselves doing stupid things and they can’t stop. There’s something about the makeup of people that makes them stick with a strategy that works and occasionally sticking with it when it no longer works. Being the best person means being able to recognize the point that when you find yourself doing something stupid, then you stop. It’s also helpful to have others give you timely and sound advice.
When Hurricane Rita in 2005 threatened the Gulf Coastal area, in particular the states of Louisiana and Mississippi only one month after Hurricane Katrina, there was near panic in public officials all along the coastal zones. Lieutenant General Russel L. Honore was brought in to oversee the emergency efforts. With the U.S. government getting a bad reputation from the Katrina experience, it was important to get it right this time. General Honore held a press conference to get out the word about the emergency plan but reporters kept asking him about the previous Katrina response. Finally, after getting fed up with them he said, “You are stuck on stupid.”1
What he was saying is that when you find yourself off track, deviating from what should be the right behavior, then straighten up and get back on the right path. He did it in a blunt manner that got the attention of reporters whose job it was to get the word out to the public about the emergency plan. He reminded them of their duty to the public and that the current emergency was more important than past mistakes on a previous emergency.
A more recent example of comes to us from the City of Houston, Texas. Mayor Annise Parker is in a legal battle with opponents who are against the city’s ordinance that “bans racial and sexual orientation discrimination in city employment and contracting, housing and public accommodations.”2 Opponents claim that the new ordinance would allow sexual predators to dress in women’s clothing and go into women’s public bathrooms under the disguise of “confused gender identity.” They filed a lawsuit. The city then issued subpoenas to Houston pastors for copies of all their speeches, sermons, email correspondence, notes and anything related to the mayor, the ordinance, gender identity, or homosexuality to include all communications with members of their congregations. To say the least there was a serious backlash against the mayor who claimed she didn’t know about the subpoenas.
If you find yourself doing something stupid, just stop. My grandmother used to tell me, and she was one smart woman, that the first thing to do when you find that you’re digging yourself into a hole is to quit digging. It may be harder to keep digging. Wish I’d thought of that.
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[1] See entire transcript here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1488266/posts
The key exchange is below:
Male reporter: General, a little bit more about why that’s happening this time, though, and did not have that last time…
Honore: You are stuck on stupid. I’m not going to answer that question.
[2] http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2014/10/15/houston-mayor-says-citys-sermon-subpoenas-came-as-a-surprise/