Editor’s note: This is one in a series of periodic commentaries by retired college presidents on the subject of civility. They are based on the book “Rules of Civility for a Modern Society,” by Jim Davis, the former president of Shenandoah University.
Jim Davis Civility Rule #4
The ability to treat others as equals when one is inherently in an advantageous position is a virtue to be cultivated.
I carry this thought one step further: If you are able to encourage honest criticism, it is prudent to do so.
Don’t let me stray into Russian Air Space.
At my very first presentation at Lynchburg College to a combined faculty and staff meeting in the fall of 2001, I dedicated some time in making a request for our clear communication with each other. To make a point about its importance, I shared the following story:
It involved the case in September 1983 of Korean airliner KAL 007 that was bound for Seoul, Korea. At some point in the flight, this airliner strayed into Russian airspace over the Kamchatka Peninsula. The pilot of that aircraft obviously did not realize this imminent danger. A Russian radar operator noted the sudden existence of an unknown aircraft in Soviet airspace. Subsequently a Russian fighter aircraft was sent to investigate. Several times did the Russian fighter attempt to communicate with the Korean airliner but to no avail. Upon failing to get a response, the fighter pilot requested and eventually received permission to shoot down the Korean airliner. This action resulted in the death of 269 men, women and children including one member of the United States House of Representatives.
But that is just a part of the story. KAL 015 also bound for Seoul departed Anchorage 15 minutes behind KAL 007 with both planes flying along the same path. At some point in this flight, the pilot of KAL 015 realized that although both planes were flying at the same airspeed, the two planes were only 5 minutes apart. He also noticed that the pilot of 007 was complaining about the terrible headwinds while at the same time, he was experiencing strong tail winds. The pilot in 015 twice contacted the 007 pilot asking if everything was all OK. In both cases the 007 pilot indicated that all was well but in so doing expressed displeasure about the second inquiry. Some later investigators stated that the 015 pilot was younger than the 007 pilot, and in the traditional Korean culture a younger individual would not question the judgment of an elder individual. In any case, the younger pilot initiated no more communication with flight 007.
Based upon this story, my words to others always have been “Don’t let me stray into Russian airspace!” Subsequently during my 19-year presidency at Lynchburg, I have received messages with the subject line “Russian Airspace: Some special topic.” In such cases, I would contact the message writer and discuss the topic contained in the warning message, reconsider my position, and then act accordingly. I do remember one instance in which I received such a message with the subject line of “Russian Airspace: His Topic” and eventually chose to ignore it. A week later I received another message from the same individual, this time with the subject line of “Missile Lock: His Topic.” This is one situation in which I reconsidered the direction I was taking, changed my course, and subsequently was forever grateful to the persistent (and younger) messenger.
Kenneth Garren is the former president of the University of Lynchburg.
