The Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

Episode 48:  A Smattering Of Intelligence

Frank:         Arrest me? What for?

Col. Flagg:    You’re a Communist!

Capt. Stone:   He’s a Fascist!

Frank:         I’m not either!  I’m nothing.

Col. Flagg:    I’ve got a list of 17 left-wing organisations and 

               charities you’ve contributed to.

Frank:         I never!  It’s a lie.  They’re all lies!

Capt. Stone:   Well, somebody’s lying.

Trapper:       That’s right, and we know who it is.

Hawkeye:      It’s us.  You two were so intent on finding some 

              breach of security, some leak.  You don’t need the    

              real thing.  You guys are self-leaking.

A mail call from home causes Henry to be up to his neck balancing his wife’s cheque book, Klinger to invent another family heartache story in want of a discharge, Frank to be obsessed about his stock portfolio and Trapper to get drunk and attempt desertion because he can’t see his daughters.

I’m often intrigued by conspiracy theories and urban legends and can understand how the line between truth and fiction becomes blurred with the ease and speed in which stories spread over the internet, especially through social networking sites.  When the saying, “Don’t let truth get in the way of a good story” normalizes the way truth is handled, personal and corporate reputations fall victim to our obsession with rumours and scandals.  There is sound wisdom to be found from one of the most successful leaders of Israel who warns, “keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies” (Psalm 34:13), which should serve as a guidepost when sifting through the fragments of truth in any story.   

Does The End Justify The Means?

Episode 19:  The Long John Flap

Klinger:   Father, over here.  I would like to ask your advice on a spiritual matter.

Father:     Why certainly.

Klinger:   If you need something – I mean, if you’re really cold 

or something – it wouldn’t be a mortal

sin to steal from somebody who was kind of a rotten 

person anyway?  Would it?

Father:    Have you stolen something?

Klinger:   These (passes out from hiding a pair of long johns)

Father:    Oh, my.  Aren’t they nice. Whoever you took these from  must be very cold now.

Klinger:    Father, if I give them back, the certain person I took them from would like to have me killed.  I’ve really been trying to avoid that lately.

The 4077 are experiencing a cold snap.  Hawkeye receives a pair of long johns from home, which become a coveted item in camp and are traded among the personnel, until they are stolen and returned to Colonel Blake to try and find the original owner.

One of the complications of leading in a world of relative morality and blurry boundaries is how easy it is to allow the end to justify the means.  These are those occasions when unethical or even illegal actions are engaged by organizations to achieve the desired outcomes, at whatever cost.   As leaders, our perception of the greater good should never compromise the truth of what actually is good.  Without clear absolutes, boundaries or vision our core values and integrity are at risk of becoming the casualty of morally and ethically questionable methods.

Beware Of Impostors

Episode 18:  Dear Dad…Again

Hawkeye:      Be off the base in 24 hours, and never…repeat: 

              never touch a patient again without a licence.   

              And contact me the minute you get one.  You’re a 

              damn good surgeon.

Capt Casey:   On the level?

Hawkeye:     Next to you, Frank Burns is an alterations lady.  I 

             gotta ask you one question.

Capt Casey:  “Why?”  Well, I’ve passed myself off as a teacher, 

             a lawyer, an engineer.  I can do it all.  I just    

             never had the patience to go through it by the 

             numbers.  I guess I never had the drive to get 

             the diploma, the permit, whatever.

Hawkeye:     Try it once.  You’ll be great Casey.

Hawkeye writes another letter home to his dad describing the boredom experience during the lull in the war.  A new doctor arrives in camp that turns out to be an impostor, with a history of passing himself off as a doctor, teacher, engineer, lawyer and leaves the 4077 as a chaplain.

In the Bible the Apostle Paul warns Timothy to beware of imposters who are deceiving and being deceived and urges him to continue in what he has become convinced of from sound teachers (2 Timothy 3:13-14).  We live in a world that promotes confusing and conflicting ideologies about life and leadership.  As leaders we must learn how to discern truth and discover principles that are applicable to those we lead.  We must also be able to test what we are being taught and be careful not to blindly follow popular opinion or be bound by political correctness.  I have found reading widely and seeking wisdom from trusted leaders helps me to develop a discerning mind.