By Merrie Spaeth, KERA 90.1 commentator.
Dallas, TX – After watching Enron, Arthur Anderson, and Global Crossing all winter, I think those corporate bigwigs should be taking Latin. They thought they were so smart. They might have remembered that a "corporation" is literally derived from the word "corpus," or body. That is, our modern corporation is a person, a corporate person. And people have values, which contribute to their mental and spiritual health.
Personhood, as we define it, is firmly rooted in Judeo-Christian values, and two of those values, which have apparently become extinct are modesty and humility. Modesty is a sense of our own limitations; humility, a sense of reverence and respect for greater powers.
That Greek warning, "those whom the Gods would destroy, they first make proud," was never truer. And now, ability and smarts do matter, but so does hard work. Francis Cardinal Spellman once said, "Pray as if everything depended on God, but work as if everything depended on man."
One of the first lessons we can learn from Enron is that even if we work very hard, do very well, are right on the money (well, maybe that's a poor choice of words) anyway, if we're wildly successful - there are many other things to recognize: the contribution of others, timing, luck, the overall environment and maybe, Divine assistance. Those guys just thought they were the smartest things on Earth, maybe beyond Earth.
The Enron people remind me of the old story of the captain of the battleship on a dark night. He sees a light ahead and signals, "I am a battleship. Give way." No reply. Again he signals. Again. Finally, he sends an order: "I am a battleship. Give way." A response comes back: "I am a lighthouse."
Rocks everywhere, folks. If we're lucky enough to navigate between them, let's remember the other guys on the ship, the people who handed us the map and the guy who does the weather.
Humility is directly related to modesty. Modesty as an athletic, desirable virtue was very much on display at last month's Olympics. I call it to your attention - both in how the athletes behaved and how they dressed. No bare tummies in downhill skiing, and the skimpy outfits in women's skating were beautiful. While they were all obviously driven, successful individuals, notice that they all paid homage to their teammates, their coaches, even - oh yes, the weather.
I mention the athletes' appearance because it's appropriate. Modesty and humility come together in what we wear. My daughter Maverick and I just saw "Big Fat Liar." It's very funny. Nice moral lessons. I recommend it. But the girl, Amanda, who's a popular star for the 10-year-old set, sported a Britney Spears, 5-inch spread of tummy. Is that really necessary? No, it's the movie industry saying, "we don't have enough confidence in the humor, script or actors, so we'll throw in some bare tummy."
Some people - Enron and the others come to mind - forget the benefits of modesty and humility and plunge ahead onto the rocks. They deserve to drown - figuratively speaking - but all the rest of the people on the ship don't. The rest of us can help give their contributions meaning by paying attention to the greater lessons and promising to take them seriously in our own lives.
Merrie Spaeth is a communications consultant in Dallas.