Sunday Reflection: The Pleasing Of The Eye

When I was a mere private in the U.S. Army (once upon a time long ago), 50% of our inspections were based on "eye wash".

Sarge didn't always have time to dig everyday, because the training schedule was often too loaded for him to spend too much time on one thing. The time spent in the morning doing PT, taking showers, eating chow, and squaring the areas away before work formation went fast and other things needed to be done, in order to properly to get ready for the day ahead.

He understood that looks are only important, in that, it gives an initial positive first impression. He knew that underneath it all, there were minds that needed knowledge and job skills that needed more improvement. But every now and then, when Sarge was aware of a possible hold-up for some reason or another, he'd take a little more time to dig. The deeper he'd search, the more flaws he'd find. The deeper one must search to find flaws gives a strong indication of how thorough of a job has been done.

Once, in one of my units not long after I had arrived, we had a new First Sergeant who wanted to hold an inspection of the barracks. It was billed as a room inspection, which meant it was to be closed locker. Lockers were to be secured and the troops were to be waiting in their rooms by their bunks. My stuff was thrown in the locker, in an effort to keep clutter out the sight of his eye. The locker was secured, the room was clean, and the bunk was tight.

When he arrived to my area, he ordered me to open my locker and the mess was plainly visible to anyone that was in the room. He left my area unhappy, and later the entire unit was informed that we would be reinspected that evening. (As it turned out, I was not the only one that had their locker in gross disarray. Remember, the entire unit had been informed this was to be a "closed" locker inspection.)

This particular first sergeant was soon to become known as First Sergeant HB (House Beautiful). His concentration on the barracks being as clean as a surgery suite was a good thing for when the Annual General Inspection (AGI) came around. No one in the entire battalion had better looking billets, than we did. And it was noted as such, by the inspection team.

However, this is not the only job an AGI team has when they visit. There are many other areas which must be examined to determine how ready a unit is, should they find themselves in combat. The serviceability of unit equipment, the preciseness of military paperwork which ensures accountability of the equipment, and a soldier's knowledge of their job and basic military affairs are just as, if not more important, than having eyewash in the barracks.

But because this First Sergeant was fixated on eyewash, this particular unit ended up failing the overall inspection. In his mind, the superficial far outweighed the underneath. By focusing on cleanliness almost exclusively, he was not properly prioritizing. He thought the pleasing of the eye (and not the soundness of the heart) was what determined how many people will end up alive, if the balloon ever went up

What am I getting at here? Let me first throw one more analogy out, before I come to the main point of this post.

A few months back when i visited my friend Mustang, we were chatting and half glancing at TV. I don't remember the movie's title, but it was based on something written by Evelyn Waugh. We didn't watch the entire film, but there was one scene that stood out and made an impression on me.

Dan Ackroyd's character was that of a powerful man who had something one of the younger characters wanted (a job, maybe?). As the young man sat in front of an ornate desk in a large office, Ackroyd's character read him some portions of the riot act, but this particular part stood out. He asked the young man what kind of insect he wanted to be. Did he want to be a butterfly, something very majestic, beautiful to look at, but produced nothing? Or did he want to be a bee, not very sightly, but hard working and very productive?

As I think back to that movie scene and that First Sergeant's desire to be the butterfly, it causes me realize that looks are superficial and not always an indication of how squared away an individual actually is, on the inside. Please understand that I am not saying appearances and cleanliness are not important, but some of the most intelligent people I have ever met in this world did not look like they were. They were not formally educated and many times worked with their hands. Their fulfillment came when they produced something of value, something they would not have been ashamed to sign their name to.

Ackroyd's character may have seen through the young man and made a determination that he only wanted a job, for status purposes. Looking and acting important seems to be fashionable, in the younger generation today. But I wonder, what will happen someday when the worker bees with stringent work ethics retire or pass away, leaving the world to these youthful butterflies?

So today in your reflections, ask yourself some things. Are you a butterfly or a bee? Do you want a car that looks good, or runs well? Do you value appearances or depth of spirit? The eyes are but one of the senses, there are four others to consider.