NTSB Safety Recommendations A-11-1 through -6

“Respect and Consideration”
Michael Huerta, Indianapolis, IN
September 15, 2010

National Black Coalition of FAA Employees National Convention

Good morning, and thanks for inviting me.

You’re holding this conference at an important juncture for our society. And you’re holding it in a place that’s been a lightning rod for the very things that are perplexing our nation at this time.

I’m going to raise some hot button issues today, and I by no means am poising myself as the One Who Holds the Answer. But what I am doing – and what I’m hoping that you’ll do alongside me – is to discuss these issues – the ones that are turning up the heat on the kettle we call America.

As everybody knows, all last week there was a horrendous display of religious, ethical and cultural intolerance in Florida. No one can say that terrorism is the answer. But burning a holy book – a book held near and dear by millions of Americans – well, that did nothing to bring about healing, much less win an argument. Pouring salt into an open wound is not, in my opinion, the springboard to intelligent discourse.

Instead of raising a concern, they raised the temperature – put fuel to the fire – agitated – whatever you want to call it.

And in New York City, we have another situation of equal tension. The plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero have both sides in an uproar.

So here’s my question to you: we are indeed the land of the free and the home of the brave. We are a land of religious tolerance. We’re a land where equality is supposed to be the law of the land.

So if all this is true, why is it that we’re having the same argument over and over and over again?

It comes down to respect. And by “respect,” I mean consideration – thinking about something from someone else’s point of view.

As far as both of those issues are concerned, I must say that just because you have a right doesn’t make you right; that just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

If you remember the movie, you know that this is what caused the problem in Jurassic Park. One of the more memorable lines from the movie was delivered by an eccentric mathematician who thought cloning dinosaurs was a bad idea. He said, “You were so busy wondering whether or not you could create these things that you never stopped to wonder if you should.” In the haste to make a buck – or a statement – they plowed ahead without thinking about long-term consequences. Or maybe even short-term consequences.

That’s a fictional example, but it fits. We’re talking about something that is scary, and has really, really big teeth. Both sides on these issues – the books and the mosque, not the dinosaurs – are raising points that are at the very core of our freedoms.

But, and this is unfortunate for us, there’s more time spent slinging mud than there is building a bridge.

You can build a bridge with brick and mortar, with concrete and steel.

But the bridge between opposing sides must be built with respect. You must be considerate of what the other person has to say.

Everyone here who’s faced discrimination of any kind knows this to be true. Screaming an epithet at someone who just screamed one at you is not the answer. But it’s our nature to say, You hurt me, I hurt you. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.

All of which leaves you with a bunch of one-eyed guys trying to gum each other to death.

At the agency, we’re not necessarily facing things that are quite that blatant, but we are indeed in an era of change – not just for our work place, but for the entire NAS. The things that we’ve grown comfortable with, like ground-based radar – well, they’re changing as new technology comes along. We’re obligated to change along with them. We’re obligated to see things from a different perspective.

There was a time, I’m sure, that the idea of horseless carriages seemed pretty strange. And cable TV? Why on earth would anyone pay for cable when you can get TV for free with an antenna? I’ve heard more than once about moms and grandmas who said, “Don’t even take that microwave oven out of the box. I don’t need it, and I won’t use it. And you shouldn’t either.”

Those examples make us smile, but there are others in our workplace that grate against the grain. For those of you who are used to filling out the paperwork with an actual piece of paper, you’re butting heads with a new generation that can’t figure out why anyone would use paper when you can do it on-line.

And what about tracking systems that are leading us to cost accounting? We never had to do that before, why should we do it now? Don’t you trust me? Don’t you think I’m doing my job?

Those are just a couple of things rolling our way. As we know, in an era where the budget isn’t getting any bigger and the work we’re being asked to do isn’t getting any smaller, well, change is upon us.

It’s a NextGen workplace, and I’m not just talking about satellites. Randy says, “Be ready for Destination 2025,” and he’s right. It’s time for us to recognize that we must adapt to new scenarios, even ones that make us a little uncomfortable – maybe a lot uncomfortable. If we’re going to provide safe, efficient, secure, environmentally friendly service, there’s no other way. We know that the approach we’ve taken has worked so far, but it is indeed time for a change.

And just like the larger social issues I raised at the beginning, some of the changes we’ll agree with and some we won’t. Some we’ll like and some we might even despise. But at the core of this must be respect – consideration for co-workers, colleagues, friends, supervisors, managers, even – even someone who works for a different line of business. We laugh at that one, but we’re not going to get to Destination 2025 unless and until we learn to work across organizational boundaries.

I’m looking to you for the support that will make it happen. The kind of support that ripples through an organization and energizes it. Raising the level of those around you is one of the strong themes I see at this conference, and that is definitely the right way to go, definitely the right thing to do.

So let me close with this. I know where I stand on these issues, but where I stand is not as important right now as it is for us to remember that what makes us great is that we allow differing opinions, differing views, differences of race and creed; and that while we might not respect the opinion on the other side of the argument, we still have respect for that person.

This is a time for us to show ourselves for what it is we are supposed to be: the land of the free, and a land big enough to have room for ideas with which we disagree, even ideas that we despise with the very essence of our being.

Let me close again by saying thank you for the invitation. Thank you for holding a conference where important ideas can be raised. You have my respect and my best wishes for success. Thank you.