Same Data.
A hermeneutic = a lens, framework, or set of assumptions through which we interpret reality.
From the Greek hermēneuein = to interpret / explain / translate.
Same data - different motives = different interpretation.
Pointless Journey.
If we are on a journey of learning and discovery, the temptation is to stop at the place that is most familiar to where we started.
The place that reinforces and confirms our understanding of the world.
‘I know this place,’ we tell ourselves as we pitch our tent.
Making our journey pointless.
Two Temples.
It’s a good idea to acknowledge the work and significance and good of the old temple - before demolishing it for a new one.
In a School Yard Somewhere.
Watching a loud, petulant, rude, and selfish child making demands on their parent and throw tantrums when they don’t get their way.
You know that in a school yard somewhere, another child is waiting to sort them out.
Boundaries.
A Commanding Officer came to me for advice.
‘I want to do this thing - without the Law getting in the way…’
A Senior Officer came to me for advice.
‘I looked up the Defence Law Manual, and I couldn’t find where it said I could do this thing…’
There’s often an assumption that the Law builds the roads for us to drive on.
That the Law gives us the permission and the rights.
But in practice, the Law does something subtler — and harder to appreciate.
It doesn’t pave the way for every possibility;
It fences off the cliffs.
It defines the edges, the hazards, the places where power would overrun the common good if left to its own momentum.
In Defence, in schools, in companies — everywhere people lead — the real work is in the unmarked space between those fences.
That’s where judgment, morality, and prudence live.
Where culture carries what rules never can.
Where we decide not just what we can do, but what we ought to do.
Law is a boundary line.
Leadership is how you play the game within it.
Mirror.
We declare:
‘I acknowledge my humanity and my weaknesses and vanity and my selfishness - all of which may obstruct or blind me to the decision I must make.’
We say:
‘I will scrutinise myself with a higher degree of judgement so that I can then turn my mind to potentially judging others.’
What Evil Looks Like.
‘Come with us! We will share the glory and the loot!’
That’s what Evil looks like:
The Crowd.
The Belonging.
The ‘Yes/No’ choice.
The Momentum.
The Security.
Easy.
The Purpose of an Argument.
The word ‘argue’ comes from the Latin verb arguere, meaning to make bright, or enlighten.
The purpose of an argument should be for all sides to have the benefit of the same information.
Once this is satisfied, and agreement cannot be reached - the purpose of arguing has been reached and a decision must be made by whoever needs to make it.
Which in turn makes new information available.
