Ears to Hear

Reflections on May 4, 1970 and May 4, 1976

Tin soldiers and Nixon’s comin’;
We’re finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drummin’
Four dead in Ohio.

I was 11 years old and living overseas. When Time magazine was delivered to our apartment that summer, it showed a Kent State student lying dead on the ground. A young girl kneeled over him in shock.

Authority. Under whose authority were four unarmed students shot and ten wounded?

President Nixon called the students “bums.” The Ohio governor hid behind the need to maintain law and order in the face of campus unrest. The National Guardsmen said they were following an order to open fire, but that was never shown to be true. Four dead in Ohio.

That summer, bumper stickers began appearing with this imperative: “Question Authority.”

I have to admit that my choice of CGA was influenced by these killings and others by the US Government. I wanted to serve but not to kill.

Authority. It was harder to believe in it. By 1970, those who had served in WWII, including both of my parents as well as Nixon, seemed to be losing ground in a futile defense of traditional values, including respect for authority.

On this date 50 years ago, I had accepted my appointment to CGA. I enjoyed the senior celebrations, but my mind was already elsewhere. I had high hopes but also trepidation. Would I have what it takes?

It takes a solid self to exercise authority well. A leader that relies only on the office (e.g., Nixon) is weak. A leader who asks for permission to exercise authority is worse. The ideal is a leader who has ability as well as strength of character, giving followers the sense that they are serving with a purpose and will be taken care of. I can’t say that I have ever reached this ideal, but I am closer now than I was in 1976. Kent State didn’t help, though.

Authority. Last week, I was prompted to reflect the topic. It suddenly occurred to me the “Question Authority” bumper stickers were still floating around in my belief system. Not a good thing when you yourself are in a position of authority. I decided to clarify my thinking.

“If I have been put in a position of authority, it is for a reason,” I told myself. Questioning my own authority doesn’t help anyone. Listening to followers and earning their trust – that’s good. They actually taught us a lot about that at CGA. Yet it is up to me to call it as I see it, even at their expense and at the cost of their approval of me. That is the area where I needed to be stronger. So, I decided to be.

After I clarified my thinking, there was a positive change in my leadership interactions. I’m a bit closer to the ideal.

Authority. How about you? Are there events in your life that shape your thinking, for good or ill? It’s interesting that CGA 1930 and CGA 2030 both came of age in a worldwide pandemic. How did that shape you?

Still learning after all these years,

Robert