Trusted Counsel…

It is not an easy task
This giving of trusted counsel.
It means that what you say matters
Whether or not it is popular
Or easy
Or safe.
But it is trusted counsel.
It is the counsel that tells a commander
Frightened by the events that have just happened
That have woken both of you in the middle of the night
To tell you something horrible…completely unexpected.
Oh, you know that such things can happen,
You think of them in your dreams
Whenever you practice the work you do in exercises.
But to have them really happen, right in front of your eyes
Right where all eyes turn…
To you for answers.
That’s trusted counsel.
So he speaks and says, “all right, PA, whadayathink?”
And in that split second you know
Know that the words you speak will be words that he will act upon,
Words that may haunt him for the rest of his life,
Words that may result in the sudden conclusion of his career
That is so much senior to your own.
But you make it…you tell him,
“Sir, you have to tell them now.
You have to tell the truth.
You have to tell them that you will find out what has happened
So that it won’t happen again.”

You listen to the stammer,
The choked up sound of that voice you know you trust.
You look in those eyes that have seen combat, death, love and then you see it…
The change in his face, the look in his eyes and he says,
“OK, we’ll do it.
We’ll do what’s right, damn it!”

And you reassure him,
Work your heart out to be sure the hounds of the fourth estate get it right, make sure they know the honor,
The courage and the determination of that man you’re speaking for.

Yes, that’s trusted counsel…
But right now, somehow, we’re forgetting to do that as we should.
We’re listening to those olden voices we said we were protecting against.
The ones of prejudice,
The ones who name call,
The ones who are certain that race and religion tell more about a man
Than his actions and his heart.
We must not shirk our duty in these days of terror.
We must ferret out the sounds of hatred,
Of long-dead vengeance waiting patiently to be unleashed
On the unsuspecting future.
We must not let ourselves believe that we can be company to those
Who would elicit our help in settling scores from battlefields long gone.
We must give trusted counsel…
That helps our communities have trust in each other,
To say to those who would try and make us hate,
“You’ve come to the wrong address, my friend. We hold these truths
To be self-evident…”

There are those who would advise our commanders to believe the lies
The same lies they are encouraged to believe in
During some accident or tragedy.
The lie that says that we can hide our fear,
Masquerade our hate, and relabel our lust for power.
Yes, we know it is wrong to blame some airman
For the Broken Arrow that came from an icy road.
So too is it wrong to let someone take away trust, credibility and collaboration through the use of tools that were not built for manufacturing fear.

If we do not stand up for what we know is right,
If we do not help communication to triumph over information
We will have only ourselves to blame
As we slip into the darkness of another Age
Where ignorance triumphs over hope.


When the scourge of Muslim nationalism first reared its horrid head
No one really noticed what was going on.
Good people let them have their way,
Worked with them against other enemies.
But when their evil work was done, an entire way of life,
Half of the Christian Church
The one we now call the “Church of the East” was gone,
After one thousand years of prosperity, success and warm-hearted helpfulness.
No branch of the Christian faith worked so well with others,
Finding ways to work together across the faiths,
Sharing the gift they had in such a way
As to be the answer for the other’s needs.
And yet…it is gone now except for a couple thousand people
Hanging on in northern Iraq.

Our nation has been here less than three hundred years
Yet we have given to the world new hope, new comfort…
Trusted counsel…

Let us not betray that trust by keeping silent when someone asks,
“So whadaya think, PA?”





















--Thoughts on hearing the closing arguments of the defense of journalism in Snow Falling on Cedars, 6/11/02