Thoughts of a Sailor

Where the Sky meets the Sea.... 

I was recently discussing the issue of automation, the pilot shortage, regulatory bodies and the airline industry with Captain Jim Wright. My favorite seafaring captain who addresses similar issues with automation challenges in his world, that we have in the sky.

He is one of the most prolific writers, and his journeys, stories, and memory never cease to amaze me. He sent me an email to introduce a paper he wrote, and the email was so interesting that I will post that before his paper. But then he sent another email after our discussion. Thus, I'm posting these thoughts for you to contemplate... 

"Your comments on automation, the FAA and pilot shortage likely have some basis. Your effort to “keep the ship on an even keel” may end up taking you beyond “the call of duty”. By chance, a devotional guide that has accompanied me on many seafaring adventures included the following quote for today by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (the German pastor, theologian, spy and, anti-Nazi dissident), in his “Letters and Papers from Prison”:

“Duty is Never Enough - When men (and women) are confined to limits of duty, they never risk a daring deed on their own responsibility, which is the only way to score a bull’s eye against evil and defeat it. The man of duty will in the end be forced to give the devil his due”. 

To keep things in a proper perspective, Bonhoeffer lived at a time when the Axis forces deprived people of their humanity. Automation dependency simply dilutes peoples’ ability to think. Two quite different things."

Don't be confined...

Exceed your expectations!

Enjoy the Journey!
XO Karlene