Lessons From a Childhood

A lesson I learned from my mother as a youth: “Don’t speak before you think, don’t talk before you know, and don’t know without the facts.” You see, when I was about 8 years old, my brother took one of my favorite toys, or so I thought. Without asking any questions I went up to him and shoved him, and I started yelling at him for taking my toy. Well, my father came in to the room and asked what was going on, and I told him my brother took my toy and hid it. At that point, my mother comes in with my toy; she had taken it with her to do the dishes, so she can clean it up, because earlier that day I had buried it in the backyard. And from that little episode she gave me a lifelong lesson.

            The pundits on the right lit up with joy when Barack Obama announced his canceled trip with injured troops. This was the gaffe they could pounce on like a rabid dog on an innocent rabbit. The blogs have been lit up with stories trashing Obama for disregarding the troops. His campaign said they felt it was “inappropriate” because it was a campaign event. I had thought he acted with good taste; but some would not relent. And this is where the lesson comes in: “Don’t speak before you think, don’t talk before you know, and don’t know without the facts.”

            According to a Pentagon ruling, it was ruled campaign event, and needed to be funded from the senator’s election kitty. The U.S. embassy had banned its employees from attending his speech, because it was viewed as a political campaign function. But the Pentagon isn’t taking sides in this debate. Earlier this week they raised questions about one of Senator McCain’s visits to a military installation. According to one report,  “staff discussions came as the Pentagon recently updated a military directive spelling out restrictions on the U.S. military during political campaigning. Candidates for office have long been prohibited from engaging in political activities at U.S. military installations or using U.S. military personnel in their political appearances. Presidential campaign staffs generally are very familiar with these military rules. The stops were part of McCain's "Service to America" tour, which kicked off on Monday and were approved by the Pentagon office of general counsel.”

            So was this a gaffe or was this the Obama campaign acting according to a Pentagon ruling? At the starting point of this debate it seemed as if the former were accurate in their assessment; however, after further details emerge, it appears the latter to be a more accurate representation. And this is where we can learn a lesson from an 8 years old boy: “Don’t speak before you think, don’t talk before you know, and don’t know without the facts.”

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/03/mccain.pentagon/index.html

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/07/25/obama-campaign-says-cancelled-visit-followed-pentagon-ruling/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/23/AR2008072303388.html?sub=AR