We are all living a different reality today. A reality that we never really imagined would occur. Even all the fans of the Steven King book The Stand or the movies like “Contagion” or “Outbreak” thought it is only fiction. We experienced SARS, Zika, West Nile, Bird Flu, Swine Flu, and a few others, yet we got through those. Today, we are experiencing the COVID-19. It is no longer surreal, it is our reality. It is a time for true leadership – for and of ourselves, for those we love and care for, and for those who look to us to guide our communities through this time of adversity and, to some extent, confusion. So I ask, when else have we dealt with anything similar, as individuals or in large groups? For today’s Share, I will try to correlate today’s situation with one in our country’s recent past, and in doing so, possibly help our perspective in how to get through these times as best we can.

During the Vietnam War, there were 766 American POWs of which 114 died in captivity. Their experience was filled with harsh circumstances and uncertainty. In some respects, not unlike today. There is one POW who stood out as a leader – Admiral James Bond Stockdale, Call Sign “007”. From ADM Stockdale we have the Stockdale Paradox. One can read about this Paradox in the Jim Collins book Good to Great. I will share an excerpt from the book with you here for you to ponder on. Collins asked ADM Stockdale about his captivity in the “Hanoi Hilton” and how he dealt with the harsh circumstances and uncertainty. The response is: 

“I never lost faith in the end of the story. I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.”

When Collins asked, “Who didn’t make it out [of the POW camp],” Stockdale replied, “Oh that’s easy. The optimists. They were the ones who said, ‘we’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And then Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. And then they’d say, ‘We’re going to be out by Easter.’ And then Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving. And then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart. This is a very important lesson,” Stockdale continued. “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose– with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

Collins puts the Stockdale paradox simply as:

Retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of difficulties. AND at the same time, confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. (page 86)

Many people will be looking to each of us to retain the faith that we will prevail, or as Dr. Martin Luther King said, “We shall overcome!” In order to do so, we must confront the brutal facts of our current reality 

As Americans, we have done that time and time again, from Lexington & Concord and Valley Forge, to Gettysburg, through two world wars, and many, many other times of dark despair. Through each of these, as Americans, we have had the resolve to prevail, to overcome.

This is still the best job I’ve ever had and I am very happy to be here, standing by and with you, even if it is virtually, knowing that we will prevail in spite of the challenges. 

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. From now on, you’ll be traveling the road between who you think you are and who you can be. The key is allow yourself to make the journey.” Meg Cabot