Posted by
Ron Devito on Sunday, September 06, 2009 7:35:39 PM
By Adrienne Ross from www.motivationtruth.com
Governor Palin's
support continues to grow, which completely baffles those who never
understood her support to begin with. After the
media malpractice,
after the bogus ethics complaints, even after Levi Johnston, she
remains strong when much weaker souls would have been laid to rest by
now. How is that possible? Keep reading.
I will always remember
the first time a student came to my defense in class. Somebody said
something disrespectful, and, before I could open my mouth, someone
else said, "Don't be talking to Miss Ross like that!" Silence followed.
That was the end of that--until the next time, of course.
That's when you know you've got
it.
Now,
I don't actually need my students to stand up for me because I do
pretty well by myself. In fact, it's a good thing I didn't get a chance
to respond--good for the student who uttered the disrespectful comment,
that is. I don't take a lot of mess, nor do I have to. Overall my
students have always loved and respected me, and I have very few
behavioral problems. The reasons, I believe, are simple: I love and
respect them first, they think I'm cool, and I can "bust 'em down" in
basketball. That's my recipe for success! I'll add to that one more
ingredient: I was in a staffing with a parent who relayed the story of
why his child said he never gave me trouble, though he gave other
teachers trouble. According to this parent, his son said, "'Cause Miss
Ross will knock me out!" Nice mix of respect and fear there, I suppose
(though I'd never do that!). I say all that to say I can clearly handle
myself.
True authority, however, is revealed when I don't have to.
To
this day, I have no recollection of what the first student uttered,
just that he was put in his place rather quickly by his classmate. Now,
I don't advocate students being aggressive with other students, but I
do believe that harmless positive peer pressure goes a long way.
Because one student came to my aid, I could get on with the business at
hand without taking the time to deal with nonsense, saving myself for
bigger issues that really need my attention.
I was thinking of
this in light of Governor Palin. Some don't understand why so many of
us speak up and fight back when we hear her being smeared by the likes
of the mainstream media, anklebiters on the Left and the Right, and
even her daughter's ex-fiance'. "What's with all these people," some
say, "these bloggers, these activists, these supporters, and why won't
Palin herself address every allegation thrown at her?" We all know she
can handle herself, so why doesn't she deal with every single issue?
The answer is simple: she doesn't have to.
See, most of the
attacks against Governor Palin are like the comment in my classroom:
distractions meant to take her attention from what's important, slurs
and accusations intended to sting and bite, and all-out attacks with
the hopes of sparking a fiery retort so the process can continue. And
for what? To wear her down.
Each year I get new students,
several of whom would say in a heartbeat, "We got your back, Miss
Ross." Now, they know good and well I'm no pushover and certainly no
punk. However, dealing with every individual about every comment is a
waste of everyone's time, and it doesn't accomplish anything. Students
who speak up, out of respect for who I am and what I represent, allow
me to just keep on steppin'-- never missing a beat, never being
sidetracked, never wasting energy.
Then, when something big arises, I'll use that reserved energy to deal with it.
Governor
Palin, too, has plenty of opportunities to decide to speak or to be
silent, to defend herself or to keep on steppin'. More often than not,
wisdom tells her to keep on steppin'--and that's when
we step up. That, I suppose, is part and parcel of the "online footprint" first written about
here and then commented on
here and
here. She doesn't need to
ask anyone
to have her back. Before she turns around, we're already there--just as
my student addressed his peer before I could even open my mouth. We're
there on Twitter, on Facebook, on our blogs, on talk radio. Everywhere
you turn, we're there, so she doesn't have to fight every single battle
because we're fighting for her.
Again, that's true authority. That's when you've got
it, and today, more than ever, public servants need
it--and they need a whole lot of
it.
The more we can step in the ring and throw some punches and block some
unfair hits for them--and the more of us who do so--the more strength
people like Governor Palin can reserve for the bigger battles.