Crash
April 20, 2010
We all were shocked when on April 10th 2010, a Russian airplane crashed in Western Russia, half a mile from the Smolenks airport, killing all its 97 passengers. On board were Mr. Kaczynski, the president of Poland, the Army Chief of Staff, the Navy Commander, the heads of the Air and Land forces as well as Church and other dignitaries.
The investigation into what caused the crash is still in progress. What we do know is that the plane attempted to land in spite of the air traffic controllers’ repeated instructions not to land because of very heavy fog.
Lech Walesa, the former president of Poland, thinks that the president or his entourage most likely pressured the pilot to land in spite of the warning from the air traffic controllers. A similar incident happened in the past when President Kaczynski ordered a pilot to land in spite of air traffic controllers’ instructions not to, again because of dense fog. The pilot refused and was later threatened by the President of having his pilot license revoked. He was, however, later decorated for having saved the lives of the president, the passengers and the crew.
Is there a lesson to be learned from this tragedy? I think there is:
We all have to respect authority. Without authority the world would be in chaos. However there are circumstances when we have to make the ultimate decision based on our values such as respect of other people’s lives as well as our own. Many Nazi officers tried to defend their actions by claiming that they “were just obeying orders.”
The ultimate authority should be our conscience.
We are all captains of our own ship. Furthermore, we are not alone, others are riding with us. We are responsible for those that will be affected by the decision we make. Their present and future could be greatly influenced by the choices we make.
Ethics very often is about making the right choice and being responsible even when faced with the opposition from authority.
As the American social psychologist, Stanley Milgram, author of “The Peril of Obedience” once said:
“The disappearance of a sense of responsibility is the most far-reaching consequence of submission to authority.”
Comments (1)
April 21st, 2010 at 12:42 am Posted by Tom Schreiber
Emmanuel what an amazing vision of interdependence and shared social responsibility your account paints. Navigating situations of this nature as they present themselves in our lives is no easy matter but it is one that speaks to the very core of the foundation, meaning and purpose of leadership.
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