<p>Do you hate politics or politicians? Politics are an integral part of everyday life, just something that you must learn to navigate. “Political” backstabbing, shuffling, maneuvering, etc. is not going away. The alternative, that is the alternative to knowing when to shutup and knowing when to speak up, is to suffer professionally. You may hold your integrity, you may be noble, you may be right . . . you just won’t be in a position to do anything about it.</p>
<p>One can call those that succeed in the poltiical game a weasel or some other perjorative term [like Senator or President] but it nonetheless remains a fact of life. At all levels, whether in government or in the private sector the following told to me by a goofy professor has always been applicable: Employers expect you to prove that you can do something their way before you can show them that your way is better. Recognizing this, demonstrating it, and promoting you ability to “do it the company way” is, perhaps, not self-fulfilling . . . at least until you get the great promotion for being such a team player.</p>
<p>I didn’t know where to begin with the story. There are some great quotes. It is particularly regretful, however, that Bush chooses to not intervene. Perhaps he knows something that is not revealed in the article. Perhaps he really is the insenstive, incompetent manager that holds only the easily defeated accountable. Who knows, maybe the Commander is thought of as a trouble maker, an inconvenient reminder of things gone wrong.</p>
<p>As Z has pointed out, the seascape is littered with more than one Naval career abruptly cut short under circumstances that don’t seem fair. This, however, seems a particularly egregious circumstance.</p>