There are a few tales that movies, books, and TV can express that most people will never experience. One of those, the demands of leadership, is a great story to tell using these media.
Tonight’s 24 had the main character, Jack Bauer, needing to make the decision to cause the deaths of two people by sending one of them into a toxin-filled area to deactivate a PC that was keeping the computer expert from starting the filtration system that would clear the toxins and save everyone else. Once the person opened the door, he and the other person in the room had until they took a breath before the toxins would kill them.
Kiefer Southerland portrayed the anguish and the determination of a leader effectively. There appeared to be no other way to save the majority but to sacrifice these two people, so he took it to give everyone else a chance at life. It was obvious that the decision affected him, and deeply.
Star Trek: The Next Generation hit on the same theme. Deanna Troi decided to take her command examination. Using the Holodeck, Riker tested her by presenting her with a command decision that required her to send one of her teammates to their death in order to save the ship without telling her what decision the test was asking of her.
She tried the task many times and from many directions before she finally realized. In the end, not realizing that Riker was watching, she ran the exam one last time and was able to send the hologram Geordi into the reactor to his death in order to procure the ship’s safety. At this point, a compassionate Riker stepped up and basically told her, “Sometimes leadership means sending those you care for to their deaths for the greater good.”
She passed the test.
Most people in this world are not leaders. Of those who do hold positions of leadership, most will never be in a situation where the lives of those they lead will be at stake. So it is only with the aid of various media that we can experience what only those in our emergency services, armed forces, executive branch, and police forces can.
These stories make me wonder—could I make that decision in a similar circumstance?
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