'Loose Talk'
By Benjamin Benedict
The Parable of Flight 1549
When Capt Chesley B. Sullenberger III floated his Airbus A320 onto the Hudson River, he was not just performing an exceptional feat of aviation; he was carrying out a damage limitation exercise that his Commander In Chief should take careful note of.
President Obama is facing a different crisis which they say it is uniquely ‘Global’, but as with the hero of flight 1549, it is very much down to the individual to get us out of it.
Up until now ‘recovery’ has equated to ‘prosperity’, to a return to high consumption and production. This lynch pin of economics is now under scrutiny. Not only do high production levels contribute to Global Warming and an increasing demand on non-renewable recourses, but as sure as winter follows summer it also leads to the next Recession. It is just a matter of time.
There are high-level discussions as to how to put an end to this cycle. So far, the best we can hope for is like Capt Sullenberger, to make a soft landing and get everyone off the plane. No one seems to know what should happen after that.
The trick is to get more out of what’s there, not necessarily to have more. There are of course areas where more is needed such as Health and Education, but this has to be provided in a new way. Gone are the days when we can hide behind the skirts of money and recourses. It is all about results. Not statistics; flesh and blood results.
Capt Sullenberger did not land that plane with anything that he did not already have. We also have the tools. It is simply about which of them we use. The danger lies in thinking that we need to slow down and rely on greater State control. That can only lead to a greater loss of freedom and huge inefficiency. We, not the State must provide the answers and these answers must be dynamic, cost efficient and effective.
So, as you go about your day, take a ‘Chesley Moment’ to pull together the sum total of your training and experience, then bring your own craft safely down to earth. If we all act with cool-headed fortitude, with no greater agenda than to avoid a catastrophe, then we shall survive and come out the better for it. If we think for one moment that either The State or Private Enterprise (in its Corporate form), and not the Private Individual is the panacea, then we shall come down in flames.
At the end of the day we, like Captain Sullenberger must rely on ourselves. The Control Tower can only give us options, only we know what the situation is and whether the river or the runway is where we have to land. Also like Captain Sullenberger, land the plane we must. There is no way out of that. Things will never be the same again. ‘High Flyers’ must be grounded. We can no longer ignore our own personal responsibility and influence over the way we live. Heroes like our Captain are all around us, and their quiet resolve is such that they mainly go unrecognised. They like Captain Chesley are ‘just doing their job’. May they inspire us to just do ours.
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