Nov 17, 2008 12:42PM

Ambiguity Unchecked

                                                                        Morning Musing
                                                      Ambiguity Unchecked
                                                         Renda Brumbeloe

Would you agree with me that you would never get on an airplane if you thought the flight crew was ambiguous to the flight?  Ambiguity must be solved.  It simply cannot be tolerated.

If I may give an extreme example, it?s like saying it doesn?t matter where a plane lands.  Just take off, fly a while, pick an airport and land.  No.  We would not tolerate such an ambiguous attitude from the pilot crew.  If for no other reason, many airports are prohibited.

Yet we live our lives in an ambiguous age.  Perhaps our tolerance has gone mad.When ambiguity turns into ambivalence, nothing matters.  An airline captain cannot afford to be ambivalent.

I once had an aloof flight attendant on a flight delayed at the gate.  She came to the flight deck and sat down where she proceeded to do her nails.  I had already informed the passengers that we had a mechanical delay for a yet undetermined amount of time and would keep them advised as to the nature of the delay.

I looked back and saw a first class passenger (a frequent flyer) go into the flight attendant?s galley and proceed to look for a cup of coffee.  There was none brewing.  I suggested to the flight attendant that since we were delayed she might attend to the first class passengers? needs.  She never looked up but replied that she had decided not to serve drinks until after takeoff.  It raised my eyebrows a bit.

I got out of my seat and went to the galley to assist the gentleman.  He said, ?Captain, I see that you have more than a mechanical problem here.?   I thanked him for his patience and told him I would take care of it.

I suspected there had been some relational problems.  I proceeded to the rear of the aircraft to confer with the other flight attendants and discovered there had been a big unresolved conflict on an earlier flight.  By this time, everyone in the first class section knew what was going on.  I took my time and returned to the flight deck.  The flight attendant was still doing her nails.

I approached her and said, ?Madam, we need to talk. I am not going to address the differences with your crew that you brought on board today.  But I cannot accept your ambivalence to your fellow crew members and to our passengers.  I need you on the team back there.?

She responded, ?Captain, I don?t need you to tell me how to do my job.?

That was enough discussion for me.  I stepped out to the phone on the jet bridge, called zone operations and requested a replacement flight attendant.  I explained that I could not trust my passengers? safety to her ambivalent attitude and to my Captain?s authority should we experience a problem in flight.  I returned to the flight deck and suggested the flight attendant take a reassignment.  She was off the flight.  It was not a pleasant experience and one I was glad to never have to repeat.

There is simply no place on the flight deck of our lives for ambivalence to take root.  And it is dangerous to compromise right principles for any desired unity.

We all experience ambiguity.  But we must not let the ambiguity of this age turn into ambivalence in our lives.  We all have family and friends who are depending on us.  Truth matters.  We do not proceed to our destination by default.

Ambiguity and temptation in itself is not a sin.  But ambivalence is a step beyond ambiguity, one of yielding to temptation, and is worse than being lukewarm.  And we all know that Jesus did not like the taste of lukewarm.

James 1:15 says, "Then when lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death."

In other words, ambivalence, when it has conceived, turns into ?nothing matters,? and ?nothing matters? brings the death of truth and relationships in our lives.

It does matter where we land . . . where we come down on matters of truth.  Don?t let the desire for unity compromise flight operations.