I was, as is frequently the case when driving for more than a half-hour, listening to the Bob Edwards Show.  He was interviewing Jeff Sharlet, the author of the book Sweet Heaven When I Die, which as he puts it, is about "belief, unbelief, and the country in between".  Mr. Sharlet told a story which put some context into a situation where a gunman, supposedly "possessed by demons", opened fire inside of a church in North Carolina.

As he describes it, Sharlet was interviewing the sheriff in the county in which this event occurred and as I take it, was struggling with understanding, or believing, in how demonic possession was even being seriously discussed in this day and age.  Apparently, the sheriff reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a gun, which he pointed at Mr. Sherlet. After explaining that the gun was actually a toy, the Sheriff related that if the reverse had happened, any respectable law enforcement officer would have shot you. Things may not be real, he shared, but just because they're not real doesn't mean they can't hurt you.

Here at Firehouse Zen we spend a pretty good amount of time discussing context and perspective, if anything, because it sits at the heart of many miscommunications and misunderstandings.  Leaders have to contend with these issues daily and while some of the issues may not even be real issues, but instead, gossip, rumors, and innuendo, the issues still must be dealt with.  In the eyes of those who don't have the facts to begin with, any fact is more concrete than no fact.

Leaders must get ahead of that curve and educate their people.  They must build a relationship of trust and they must understand that while there are people in their organization who thrive on "stirring the pot", the enlightened leader must stay ahead of the game and insure total transparency to avoid those kinds of issues.  And even then, like happens in our organization, you can be as transparent as possible and still have to endure the few shit-stirrers. 

People believe what they want to believe.  If you were an organization who strives for excellence, considers every issue carefully and logically to ensure maximum accountability for every fiscal decision, follows policies to the "T", and seeks alternative funding sources and resource sharing to ease the burden on the taxpayers, you would still have the fringe out there taking shots at you.  And that hurts, but especially in this day and age when anonymity protects cowards and weasels on the internet, it continues to be a fact of life and a serious downside to leading.

Not only are you at the top when you lead, but you are also the most vulnerable to being taken out.  Ask the families and friends of every leader who tried to make serious change, and you will find them to be able to relate all avenues of retaliation, humility, anger, and other hostile emotions having been directed at those individuals, and not excluding physical harm and even assassination.

Being a leader isn't just lonely, sometimes, it is harmful to your health.  Belief is a strong emotion and whatever people believe has got to be addressed in one form or another.  But the safest way to manage the beliefs of others is through honesty, transparency, and honorable values.  Setting a positive example through ethical actions will tend to win out in the end, or at least it does in the movies.

Without a doubt, issues of mental health seem to  have always been one of those sensitive issues that no one would talk about.  However, there was an article in Sports Illustrated this past week about the Miami Dolphins' Brandon Marshall in which he has been candid about his mental health challenges.  His bravery in discussing the subject openly has been refreshing, as it is a message to others who have issues that they are not alone, and that seeking help is not a sign of weakness.

Any admission of mental incapacity is traditionally stigmatized but it really shouldn't be.  Mental health problems originate from a number of different sources, but especially now in our nation, everyone is subject to being overwhelmed.  The stress that I can personally sense with a number of people I know is higher than I have ever known it to be and I'm positive that anyone reading this probably knows their share of individuals who are struggling as well.  Between the roller coaster ride our economy is on, the overwhelming number of jobless, foreclosures, environmental disasters, terrorism, and other world wide concerns, even if you are normally pretty stable, in these times pretty much anything could be the final straw.

We spoke of inordinate stress reactions before in this forum, like back with the massacre in Arizona where a firefighter failed to respond to this incident.  There were plenty of people who were quick to judge but had no idea what the basic issues were.  I don't even know that we still have all the answers.  But while today you may feel like you have a grip on things, tomorrow could be the beginning of the end of your current world.  I heard a figure the other day that said that one out of every seven Americans right now is on the food stamp program.  I'm watching Dateline NBC as I am writing this, where Lester Holt is doing a piece on three women in Millen, GA and the effect the economic recession is having on this small town.

It's easy to be smug about how good your life is when things are going well.  It's easy to think that someone who is having a major crisis should just suck it up, because really, how bad can it be? Well, it is a testament to the maturity level of some of the trolls who prowl the web as to how quick they question someone's integrity because, say, they aren't half the Superman they happen to be.  Frankly, I have met some of the individuals who make statements that parallel the "We fight what you fear" mentality and you know, I question their sanity and their ability to fight fire more than anyone who has the courage to admit they need some help.

There is a dividing line between those who need institutional care and those who are in the midst of a crisis.  And while the grand arena is "mental health" and I am in no way qualified or knowledgeable to discuss the differences, there is an obvious need for people to be compassionate and understanding, because today's bad day could be tomorrow's nightmare.  Don't be so quick to make statements that question someone's dignity just because they have hit a wall.  I hope to never face those challenges myself and I hope you don't ever have to either.  If you need help, get help. And if you know someone who needs help, be a real leader and do what you can do to compassionately point them in the right direction.

One of the most telling things she pointed out to me as I listened in awe, was that she could realize that we have "leaders" who are more interested in their ability to get re-elected than they are about running our government.  I asked Emma where she was getting all this and she indicated that she has been watching the news and overhearing conversations, and it was pretty plain to her that while our representatives are supposed to be working to keep our country great, they instead are spending their days and hours accusing each other of who screwed this mess up.

Here's news for you: you all screwed it up. WE screwed it up.  We allowed special interests, the media, and most of all, zealots on both sides of the aisle, to hijack our government.  I was listening to something the other day that stated that the Federal Election Commission, which is made up of six individuals appointed by the President and with the "advice and consent of the U.S. Senate", has been pretty much limited to people from either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party for a long time.  I tried to look this up to see if I could find if that were true, but did not see it anywhere.  However, it isn't surprising to me that it, like so much of our government these days, is about whether you are a Republican or a Democrat.

Likewise, if you want to run for anything more than a local council seat these days, you need to be either a Republican or a Democrat, or plan on coming up with the money yourself.  While that might sound like an okay idea, these days, the support for a run at political office requires funding that is grossly out of control.  Media gets their cut, through advertising. There are consultants and poll interpreters, and people are needed to print signs and to make phone calls and to chat voters up on the Internet.  Since that money has to come from somewhere, there is a certain amount of leverage that donors can exert in order to help a candidate get elected, and anyone who suggests that to be anything else but true is simply delusional.

And if that isn't enough, We, the People, aren't represented by people like us anymore.  We are represented by career politicians, ones who have no idea what the cost of a gallon of milk is, or have never had to sweat out their bills themselves.  They have people to do these things for them.  The amazing healthcare and retirement benefits these federally elected officials get are way out of our league, which is ironic, because these are the same people who have been voting down insurance reform and banking reform.  And who is getting stuck in the long run? Us.

Emma pointed out to me a big problem: "Dad," she asked, "So why won't they do the right thing and try to work together?"  And I indicated that if they did, they'd likely alienate the people who voted them in there in the first place, and when they went up for re-election they would likely lose.  She thought about that a while and said, "I thought you told me that leaders are supposed to make hard decisions sometimes, even if people don't like them afterwards.  I thought you told me that leaders have to be brave and try to do what is right for everyone, even if it means that they have to sacrifice?"

I smiled a little, but since I'm not trying to raise a cynic, I explained to her that sometimes people get sidetracked, and even though they may have the best intents, sometimes the decisions are very, very hard.  And I told her we need to pray that our leaders make decisions not based on what they gain out of the decision, but based on what is good for the Nation.  But I also reminded her that we don't always know what is best, so we have to hope we remain open-minded and willing to work cooperatively, rather than to fight with everyone.

She seemed to like that answer and she was quiet for a while. But while I was putting on a brave face, inside I was wondering, what has become of our government?  Why would supposedly mature individuals choose to take our nation to the brink of insolvency, then once done, stand around and point fingers at one another instead of working harder to try to fix this mess?  I heard conservative political heads talking this morning about how this situation is President Obama's fault, and I remember (I guess that is a long time ago and hard to remember) that the recession started when President Bush was in office.  Back when we had all the problems with the banks and insurance companies, I heard lots of blame going around, but my memory is that the fat cats have been getting fatter for not one, not two, not three, but at least four presidents ago when so much of the financial industry was deregulated.  And likewise, there is plenty of pork going around and plenty of waste, but the things that get threatened for cuts are programs like Medicare and Social Security, but I don't hear suggestions like "stop funding for other countries, especially ones who hate us", or "cut funding to try to win the hearts and minds of those who would rather see us dead".  Or maybe, "stop providing corporate welfare and get the big businesses to pay their taxes just like small businesses have to".  

Our priorities have gone out the window.  We, the People, are more interested in who wins "American Idol" than who our elected officials are going to be.  The public is so under-informed about what our elected officials actually stand for and they could care less.  It's too much trouble to click on individuals than to vote a straight party line because really, what difference is my one vote?  If any of you can't see where we are going, we can go ahead and put it into perspective for you.  Take the time to write your elected officials and make a suggestion for something you think is important, or in support of legislation that you think will improve our country.  The test is actually that I'd be willing to bet that a significant percentage don't even know who their elected officials are.

If you REALLY are a patriot and REALLY care about this country, skip flying the flag on your car and do something really meaningful.  Get to know your elected officials and make sure they are actually representing YOU, whatever political party or preference you happen to be.  And by know them, I mean, be a total pain in their ass until they realize that they don't represent Acme Chemicals or whomever is hosting that huge fundraiser this weekend, but you, your spouse, and your kids.  And call them and e-mail them frequently.  If enough people do this, perhaps, just maybe, our officials will finally understand what their jobs are: to act like adults and work together to keep our Nation the greatest in the world.

The teacher then told the student he could not instruct him. "If you are hunting rabbits", the master told him, "and chase two, you can be sure to catch none."

We have to carefully balance risk versus the likelihood of occurrence.  Of course, if it snows and I calculated that we didn't need snow removal gear, some will be quick to point out that I have no idea of what I'm doing.  If I buy snow removal gear, those same individuals will be quick to point out again that I have no idea what I am doing.  There are those who understand and there are those who do not.  If you are going to be the Chief, it helps to have thick skin.  But in the long run, do what is best for your customers; making decisions based on observation and experience is the key.

 I have heard all the arguments.  While you may be saying, "I'm currently friends with my supervisor and everything is fine", my response is that if this is the case, you are doing well.  Many bosses say they can remain objective, and fail miserably.  If your "friend/boss" would still call you in the office and read you the riot act just like he or she would to anyone else when you deserve it, then perhaps you are onto something.  And if you have that kind of relationship with your officer, I think it is great.  But it's like I have alluded to in a number of posts, these three simple rules of supervisor/subordinate relations must come to bear:

1. I am your boss.
2. If we can maintain that relationship and we can both be objective when it comes time to be, great, I'll be your friend too.  
3. If not, see Rule 1.

If you are the informal leader of a group and suddenly, you are the boss, it is going to put an amazing strain on your relationships with these individuals unless you are willing to stand back from the emotion and do your job.  

Let's go back to a little comparison and contrast.  Think about being a parent of young children.  You can be a parent and make the occasionally tough decisions that leave your children angry with you and while it hurts, you know you are doing the right thing.  But you can't be their friend and do that: friends are equals, contemporaries, peers.  If you were to approach a sticky issue with your child as a friend, do you really believe for a second that they will respect your authority?  

If you are a truly enlightened leader, the whole point in having authority is to use it to lead, coach, educate, and direct others.  If you don't believe that to be true then maybe you should take a long look at your relationships in that regard.  That's not to say, again, that you can't be a friend to your child.  As individuals mature emotionally, they recognize logic and the difference between right and wrong.  They have experiences that permit you to engage them and they can learn on their own.  But in dealing with those who are ambivalent about the difference, or have immature tendencies, or simply lack experience in understanding the difference, if you act as a friend rather than as a parent, don't be overly surprised if your children make the wrong choices because you were overly permissive in the attempt to be their friend.

I have myself been guilty of allowing a friendly relationship to cloud my view of how an individual is performing, or in some cases, even in how I respond to their actions when I give them news they don't care to hear, or challenge them with a task they think is objectionable.  I have a tremendous amount of respect for team cohesion and I understand and encourage cohesion as a force multiplier.  But there is a delicate balancing point between cohesion and fraternization.  In an emotionally mature adult, the lines can blur a little more because individuals can process the logic.  In the less mature adult, sometimes what seems to be logical is instead addressed with a great deal of emotion.

As a boss, you will have to make decisions that are occasionally not well recieved by the troops, especially if you are the one who is pushing for change in organizational culture.  As we have also said repeatedly, change is not something that comes easily in a lot of cases.  If it were, it would happen all the time and without resistance.  Consider the fact that you can be an honest, fair, and educated boss that people like to work with, have a lot of respect for, and consider a "friend".  But ultimately, when the hard part of the job comes into view, part of having integrity as a leader is reaffirming to the troops that you will always act in the best interest not of the organization or the personnel, but in the interest of the customers you serve.  If you can do that, no decision you make will be wrong, and people may disagree, but will have to do so respectfully, because service to the customers is the ultimate objective.  

Do yourself a favor as well as your subordinates. Choose what is best to serve the customers you are charged with providing for.

A few shifts later, we did end up with one of these transports and the same crew was back on rotation.  I called the station to let the crew know what was going on.  I hung up from that and went back to my computer.  After a few minutes, I still hadn't heard the medic unit check in on the radio.  When I called the station to find out what was going on, I'll bet you know what the answer was. That day I learned a lesson the hard way.  The lesson: Don't give someone an order and then, when something unusual comes up, expect your orders to be followed without question.

Individuals who become supervisors, and subsequently leaders, must understand that when they play pranks like that, the result is that people don't see you as credible. I do have examples of officers who have been able to be pranksters and be credible, but they are VERY far and few between.  In retrospect, a friend and colleague who I consider one of the best officers I have ever worked with was one of those.  But my observation is that he had the ability to pull off pranks that didn't require his active involvement.  And while never calling attention to his ability to pull a fast one, he wasn't the class clown either.  

Conversely, there are those who when they pull off the joke, they have to be in the middle of it.  This obviously detracts from their respectability.  They are not seen as credible.  The crew just sees them as an extension of themselves, with some added paperwork responsibilities.  When it comes to playtime, these characters are right there in the mix, setting someone up for a "bunny tail", throwing someone else's car keys into a bowl of water bound for the freezer, or throwing a bucket of cold water over top of the shower door on some unsuspecting boot.  And what's even worse is that when the officer engages in this behavior, it also means that to be a good sport, you must be okay with being the mark in some of the practical jokes. Otherwise, the argument is that you can dish it out, but can't take it, and depending on how you react, you may very well end up looking foolish, which certainly isn't going to do anything for your respect.

There are ways to not be a prankster and not be seen as a tight-ass either.  We have a long standing "tradition" of wetting individuals with ice cold buckets of water when they get promoted.  The day I got the official letter, I overheard some of the crew debating the wisdom of wetting me, since I don't engage in that nonsense.  But when all the work was done that day, I finished up a report, walked out into the kitchen and said, "Okay, if you're going to do this, let's do it and get it over with."  

Each of the other six guys at Station 6 that day got a shot at pouring ice water on a newly minted chief officer (see the picture).  I'll admit it was cold and that it took my breath away.  But I sat there and when they exhausted their last bucket and they were all standing around, I shook the ice off my shirt and stood up.  I then asked, "You guys done?"  They all acknowledged that they were, I simply said "Thank You", went inside to my rack and changed into a dry uniform.  Then I went back to my office to finish up my evening reports with a smile and a business as usual attitude.

Likewise, if you have that kind of attitude and someone does take a chance to pull one over on you, the best bet is to maintain a sense of humor about it, but remind the entire crew that it isn't smart to prank the chief.  I've said something like, "Are you sure turning the heater on high in the chief's car is a good career move?", which gets some light laughter, but everyone gets the point.  Later you can take the individual aside and actually use it to discuss this very same lesson here with them, so that perhaps they learn from it for when they become an officer. 

When you are a leader, it requires you to not take yourself too seriously.  But if you are busy dreaming up new practical jokes rather than dreaming up new training scenarios, the likelihood that you will be given the respect you desire as an officer is going to be slim. Officers who engage in practical joking with their subordinates are only asking for reciprocation; the biggest downside is that reaction may come at the time you least want it to.  Best to leave the funny stuff to the kids and stick to being the responsible adult. 

Consider the events in Holyoke, MA over the past week or so. If the action you are about to take would cause undue embarrassment to you or your organization, or your family and loved ones, would you still do it? If your action was the cause of something that makes the front page, or the national news, and it's not something you are proud of, would you do it? If the action you are about to take would invoke criminal or civil penalties against you, would you still do it?

What happened here was a very innocent practical joke on the part of an interim chief.  I feel badly for him and I really don't believe this chief to be an idiot (as some have stated) or a criminal (as others have), or even a bad guy.  I don't even know the man.  But what he did, especially in the anti-public servant climate within which we are currently suffering, was not exercising good judgment.

There is nothing about this incident that suggests that anything happened here other than an attempt at a little levity, albeit at the expense of violating the laws about calling in false alarms.  Am I judging the man or his actions?  No.  I don't know all the facts, although they seem pretty apparent on their face.  Do I understand the mentality?  Yes.  I have moved a fire engine parked at the supermarket to the other side of the parking lot along with a few other practical jokes. But the next blog post will be all about THAT angle regarding leadership, so stay tuned.  I don't believe anything other than that this was a practical joke gone wrong. 

But in light of this incident, maybe instead of testing someone's physical fitness, their aptitude for reading a sentence, or the many other things we should be testing and aren't, maybe we should put at the top of the priority list, a test for maturity.  Because other than the only test that seems to be important in some departments these days – that would be the ability to fog a mirror – we insist on knowing all these important things about how much someone can lift, or how fast they can run stairs, or how fast can they calculate 2+2 and we miss out on what seems to be the heart of our industry's problem.  If you haven't picked up on it, that would be a test for whether or not the individual we are about to hire or promote is capable of objectively separating their inner teenager from the responsibilities of adulthood.

Again, lest you think this is all about pranksterism, there are actually many examples of where a certain level of maturity is important, and why it's not a good idea to have people associate with us that think it is okay to video someone lighting fireworks out of your ass.  The public perception these days is swinging toward the "bunch of overgrown kids pretending to be important" side and away from the "upstanding citizen who is here to keep us safe" side.  While some of our colleagues might not see that as being important, the public, when choosing to spend their hard earned dollars, are really not interested in sending money in the direction of waste and frivolous behavior.  They want to be reassured that the individuals to whom they are entrusting their tax dollars are responsible, thoughtful, and perceptive.  People who are making the news wire for setting fires, calling in prank false alarms, stealing from treasuries, and any other number of violations of society, are NOT considered as being responsible, thoughtful or perceptive.  In fact, if this is news to you, haven't you probably ALSO been the ones complaining because the public doesn't love you anymore?  Acting like you are still a member of Delta Tau Chi is not okay when you pin bugles on your collar (and I am the number one Animal House fan, remember?)  Sophomoric behavior is best left to sophomores. 

There are a number of us who are frustrated with the eroding public trust that comes about when certain participants in our field act like a bunch of day care refugees.  The failure for some to consider the ripple effect their actions have on others is incredible.  We are in a real struggle to define the fire and emergency services.  There are daily reports of communities downsizing departments, "renting" them out (that would be privatizing them), or simply reallocating funds that would have been spent on fire and emergency services to other competing interests.  We are at war here for our very existence, and every negative report is used against us, implicitly or not, to give rationale as to why we (fire and emergency services) shouldn't get the support we need.

There is no need to comment that I'm sucking the fun out of the job.  Right now, we need to be working harder than ever to save our standing in the community, be it as a career or volunteer professional.  We definitely don't need our own people shooting our efforts in the feet.  Fun is when we can come out of a good worker safely, with a smile on our face because we did a good job; or high-fiving in the nurse's lounge because we just pulled an asystolic patient out of their nose-dive and they are sitting up talking in Bed 2.  Fun is when we are on the training ground joking around with each other while resting after a particularly challenging evolution.  

Grow up. Fun doesn't come unless you earn it.  It's not fun being a loser.  You can have fun all day long, but in the end, if you haven't accomplished anything, you're just one more clown among many.  When you are truly professional, you can work hard and have fun at it too.

Now, I do read a lot and listen to podcasts, etc. and I will check my quotes with a deep internet search to make sure I haven't stolen someone else's ideas, but I'm pretty sure I said this stuff at one time or another.  I also left off anything I paraphrased (I hope) and added some stuff that exists in unpublished posts (there are a few dozen of those).  Believe it or not, we here at FHZ have standards.  They are low, but we do have standards.  

So here you are, from the beginning of FHZ, some of the more memorable ones:

• "When I give you an order, I want to see it done, or your dead body where you died trying to do it."
• "Never eat more than your mask can hold."
• "I am not your friend, I am your boss. If you want to be friends, that's okay, but that doesn't change the fact that I am your boss first."
• "The company officer is the designated adult supervision in the station. Act like it."
• "There won't be a group hug at the end of this. I don't do Kumbaya."
• "When I call for a resource I'm gonna give you type and kind. If I call for a Lincoln-ful of Panamanians, I don't care where you got it, just give me the closest one."
• "Let's put this in terms you can understand: Confined space rescue is nothing more than HAZMAT on a rope."
• "Being a truckie requires resourcefulness. You are presented with a problem no one else knows how to fix and you fix it with what you brought to the party or what you can swipe. After that, it's all magic."
• "Individuals have given themselves the freedom to make poor decisions, then be let off the hook because we 'shouldn't judge them', or because their mommy didn't hug them as a child, or whatever the victim story is this week." (Okay, I just used that one again the other day).
• "The base cause of indignity is usually the result of inconsiderate behavior." (Oh, and that one is new. But I liked it).
• "Conflict in life is inevitable. Conflict escalation and intractability is not." (Alright, that one is new as well.  Back to the old stuff).
• "There's enough ugly going on around us right now without our own people bringing it down on us."
• "Each of us should be serving as a positive example of how to do the job, volunteer or career, and without acting like a bunch of amateurs and whackers."
• "The important part in our lives, really, isn't necessarily what we can fill up our minds with at every moment, but about creating space to let more in."
• "There are a few things that you should raise the stakes for, like your faith, your family, and your country.  But when faced with an unwinnable scenario and a profound lack of resources, sometimes it is best to save what you can save and live to fight on another day."
• "Where t = tempo, r = resources and f = frustration: increasing t multiplied by decreasing r = exponential increase in f."
• "The taxpayers in your community ultimately decide what level of service they want.  If they are insistent that giving you no resources is okay, then they have to be educated to what extent that investment will reap disaster.  Risk is proportionate to return."
• "There are other sides to every argument that get squashed by the rush of the ADD crowd to comment.  Don't fall into the trap of the unenlightened.  Think before you post."
• "I can think of no rational society that thinks it is okay to screw the disadvantaged for the benefit of the privileged.  Taking advantage of the less fortunate is simply bullying."
• "When we use the phrase 'customer service", if that's not appealing to you, try saying it like this: 'doing what is right for our neighbors and the people who visit and work in our community'.  That should be a little more pleasant."
• "Successful coaches match schemes to personnel, not vice-versa."
• "If you are going to successfully implement change in your organizational culture, there should be a reluctance to be where you were and a desire to get where you are going."
• "I'm pretty sure that when my ticket , I'm not going to be quoted saying something profound, poetic, or heroic.  It is likely going to be something that can't be repeated around children or the faint-hearted."
• "If we really want our industry to recognized as professional, it requires consistent conduct that is professional."
• 'Legitimate power, in the sense of leading others, is limited to the amount of leverage the followers will permit."
• "Tansformative leadership requires commitment, honesty to self, and an understanding of the world.  It's yours if you can embrace change, open yourself up to it, and set the example to others."
• "Our business is too dangerous to leave the teaching to amateurs."
• "Perhaps if you guys are going to fight fire like you are in the '70's, you should be paid like we were then too."
• "If as a team, you can't agree on the destination, someone needs to get out of the car. Ultimately, getting to the destination requires assessment, negotiation, understanding, cooperation, and ends with commitment."
• "More often than I care to, my 'command presence' comes out at inopportune times, like when I am talking to my wife (she doesn't like it), my kids (they're not crazy about it either), or my colleagues (they probably think I'm insufferable anyway)."
• "If you fail to illustrate a clear picture of who is in charge, someone else will come in and fill that drawing in for you."
• "Sometimes the best we can do is to pin it down to the neighborhood of origin, if that's what was burning when we got there."

Since at some point perhaps I'll add another page of these for the next years, if one of the sentences I uttered strikes a chord with you, point it out to me and I'll add it.  I'm all about customer service.  Until next time, thanks for reading.

People love to hate hypocrites. When a person or a group allows their reputation to be portrayed as one of honor and good, and then that trust is betrayed, then their actions can be seen as patently hypocritical.  Those are the people who do things like run on a platform of family values, only to be shacking up in South America on taxpayer funds.  Or doggedly pursuing impeachment of a President for being adulterous while engaging in their own adulterous affair. Or the religious who rail about the wrongs of homosexuality, only to be having a few of those relationships on their own.  One of my least favorite college football coaches, who has led under the premise of being forthright and wholesome after his claims that he knew nothing; Well, maybe he knew a little more than nothing.  And of course, there is this Weiner saga that continues to keep playing.  

Since the firefighter is held to be an example of virtue, bravery, and service in the name of the community good, when one of us fails, we can expect it to get serious play.  And in this day and age where so many people are looking for heroes, when we get it wrong, we get it wrong in a big way.  The backlash continues to flow as it seems like from one day to the next, one or more of our own pulls a new rabbit out of the hat and ends up with their mug shot splashed across the front page.

I also like to read the comments in the stories as Statter and Firegeezer where a number of our brethren sanctimoniously proclaim the fallen as garbage and a disgrace to the uniform.  But really, here's where it really gets ugly.  Check out the comments on this article from the Las Vegas Sun.  You can also check out the whole story there as well, but one look at the comments and you can see that the idea of the public singing our praises as "heroes" has been replaced by angry, bitter tirades against what we do not only while not running alarms, but even while providing our service.  And I don't even know what it is that these guys may or may not have done to draw this kind of fire.  I don't know that they did anything wrong or they have just found themselves poorly positioned in the center of a taxpayer backlash against spending.

Just yesterday, my own organization happened to be fighting a decent sized brush fire in a residential area.  With all of the coverage of the devastation in the Arizona wildfires you'd think citizens would be praising a fast, aggressive response; instead, at least one TV news report (not the one cited) pointed out the "inconvenience" of residents not being allowed to their homes until the fire was declared under control, and I corresponded and talked with a few people with very similar complaints.  Fortunately, all of my interactions were positive and once explained, the individuals were at least a little more grateful.  But what we have always taken for granted (that the citizens see us as positive, upstanding members of the community), has been replaced in many jurisdictions as our being selfish, lazy, and out-of-control.

There's enough ugly to go around right now without our own people bringing it down upon us.  It is up to each and every one of us to weed out those who continue to give emergency service a bad name with their negative attitudes, their arrogant behavior, and their me-first mentalities.  The good name and the "hero" portrait of emergency service, like it or not, came about because we put it on the line for our neighbors, we genuinely cared about our community and serving others, and because we were always seen as hard-working, blue collar people.  When a firefighter said something, they shot straight, but it was said with concern and compassion.  We have always been about getting the job done, no matter what, no matter how dirty or dangerous, but without bitching or complaining or pointing out each others' faults.  This is not how we work today.

Let the politicians, TV preachers, Wall Street CEOs and the other scumbags be the hypocrites and punching bags.  Each of us should be serving as a positive example of how to do this job, volunteer or career, and without acting like a bunch or amateurs and whackers.  Man up (that includes our sister firefighters as well) and do the job, and while you need to educate the public in what we do and how they interact with us to provide a team approach, don't call attention to yourself for doing it.  Just do the right thing and we'll all be fine.