The Hollow Tree Sparknotes
The Hollow Tree During the Civil War, Lincoln told the story of “The Hollow Tree” to illustrate the dilemma that the north was in given that many people who lived in the north were actually southern sympathizers. In the story, the tree was determined to be hollow and a dilemma faced the owner of the tree and house that lay underneath it. For if the owner of the house cut the tree down, the tree would cause tremendous damage because of the size of the tree, but if the tree wasn’t removed, it would provide constant danger and could fall during a storm or when you weren’t prepared for it and injury the family that lived inside the house.
Lincoln used the story to illustrate that when faced with a difficult decision; a leader must lead and …show more content…
make a decision. Failure to address important issues can cause the risk of tragedy to the individual or the organization. These dilemmas can often be found in parenting. Many times my children have made poor decisions that should result in discipline. The loving part of me wants to ignore the issue and let it slide because I don’t want to upset or punish my child. However, ultimately the discipline has to take place because failing to discipline could lead to bigger issues down the road if the negative active or behavior isn’t corrected.
In law enforcement, this type of parental/child dilemma happens frequently between supervisors and subordinates. Supervisors who get promoted and begin to supervise their friends can quickly find themselves in positions where discipline needs to take place to stop poor habits or practices that the officer is engaging in. These new supervisors are often faced with the dilemma of risking the anger and disdain of their friend or administering the discipline required of the position they undertook.
I actually witnessed on a large scale this very scenario playing out in an agency I worked for. The agency had a very large community policing unit. When the unit first started, they enjoyed early successes and were the darlings of the agency. The community loved the unit and the unit did good work. After several years, the unit became lackadaisical towards their responsibilities and mission and it didn’t take long for this reputation to spread across the entire agency. Despite a common and well founded belief that specific unit members were taking advantage of their assignment, the agency made no efforts to rain in the officers. One day, two community officers were having lunch at a restaurant next to the local driver’s license branch. The officers failed to hear a radio call for emergency assistance at the driver’s license branch where an officer had responded for a call for service. On arrival, the officer ended up in a serious fight with a suspect and needed assistance. The community officers had developed a habit of turning their radios down and failed to hear the radio call. The dispute ended up causing the disbandment of the special unit and discipline for the officers. This is an example of the climate that can develop when leadership takes the path of least resistance and fails to adequate address an issue they were made aware of. This was an example of leadership that failed to part ways with subordinates who were doing wrong. It is also an example of how you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time. But you can’t fool all of the people all of the time (Phillips, 1992).
Jefferson Davis
During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln is said to have had a conversation with General William Sherman in regards to Sherman’s request order for what he was to with Jefferson Davis if he was captured.
Sherman specifically asked if Lincoln wanted Davis captured or if he should be allowed to escape. In typical Lincoln fashion, he answer the question with a story. The story was about a man who practiced abstinence from alcohol. On a hot day, he was asked if we wanted some lemonade by a friend. The friend also asked he wanted something “stronger” in his drink. The man replied “I am opposed to it on principle, but if you manage to put in a drop unbeknownst to me, I guess it wouldn’t hurt me much (Phillips, 1992).” The story signaled that he would not be opposed to allowing Davis to escape. Lincoln was already known for his lack of a desire to punish confederates for the fight against the north. He was more concerned on the reconciliation of the country. This was in line with Lincoln’s principle of not acting out of vengeance or spite.
Within the law enforcement profession, the climb up the ladder can be a bumpy one. People who were once friends now compete with one another for promotions or assignments to special units. In addition, it is not abnormal for officers to generate rivalries with other officers for often petty things. The job provides plenty of opportunities for future supervisors to exercise their command or supervisory authority over others once they advance far enough up the latter. Certainly leaders that do would operating in a manner the opposite of what the Lincoln principles
teach.
I have had the opportunity to supervise several employees over the course of my career who have developed poor reputations within the agency. In the case of one particular officer, the officer lied to city officials regarding a change I instituted in their assignment. This move had been authorized in advance by my command staff so I was covered, but the officer clearly attempted to get me into trouble because I made a supervisory call they did not agree with. Within a few months, the officer transferred out of the assignment prior to anymore issues taking place. After several years, I began supervising this employee again and it left me with a judgement call to make. I could allow myself to be bothered by the employees actions that were now several years old, or I could choose to let the past be left in the past and try to start fresh. Although it was hard, this was the decision I made. I would love to say that the employee respect my extending the olive branch but that is not the case. The officer continued to be a supervisory challenge for some time, but I am confident that I handled the situation in the correct manner. It would have been unprofessional to let the actions, that were now several years old, play into my attitudes. A few of Lincoln’s principles that were used were, “Have malice toward none and charity for all,” “Touch people with the better angels of your nature,” “No purpose is served by punishing merely for punishment’s sake (Phillips, 1992).”
Silence
Of all of Lincoln’s stories, the theme of this story has likely been said by every member of every police department in the United States at one point or another. Lincoln told the story to a group of politicians who were making demands and complaining on how he was running the war effort. The story asked the politicians to suppose that all the property they were worth was placed into the hands of one person to carry across the river on a rope. He asked if they would shake the cable and keep shouting orders for how he was to cross the river on the rope, or would they keep silent until he arrived safely to the other side. He went on to say that “the government is carrying an enormous weight. Untold treasure is in their hands. Don’t badger them. Keep silence and we will get you safely across (Phillips, 1992).”
In the law enforcement profession, officers are constantly being instructed by the community, politicians, the media, and others how to do police work. It seems these days that no matter what situation an officer finds themselves in, they will find a person or two who want to tell them how to do their job, even when they have no practical experience in doing it. It is probably the worst with the politicians because they hold the purse strings to government and they always like to hold the control over the equipment that police purchase or the training that they need or don’t need.
One of the best examples of this can be seen in the controversy following the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Community groups, state and federal politicians, and the media began to decry the police use of “military weapons and tanks” as tools to quell the rioting in Ferguson. Police officers around the country who have been in similar situations responded by simply saying walk a mile in our shoes but the media and other groups refused to listen. In reality, law enforcement doesn’t use tanks as tanks have offensive weapons and the vehicle police use only have ballistic protection and are labeled as rescue vehicles. They allow police to respond to a scene safely when a perpetrator has a firearm. In addition, they decried the use of military assault weapons by police. However, more and more frequently, officers are tasked with going up against criminals who are themselves armed with similar weapons. The last thing an officer should be expected to do is confront an armed perpetrator with a less capable weapon that the criminal themselves. However, these explanations fell on deaf ears. The fears of officers were realized only a few short weeks ago when two officers were shot in front of the Ferguson Police Department. One of Lincoln’s principles that stands out is, “Don’t give up all your key points of strength or the competition may “beat out your brains (Phillips, 1992).”
Lincoln used the story to illustrate that when faced with a difficult decision; a leader must lead and …show more content…
make a decision. Failure to address important issues can cause the risk of tragedy to the individual or the organization. These dilemmas can often be found in parenting. Many times my children have made poor decisions that should result in discipline. The loving part of me wants to ignore the issue and let it slide because I don’t want to upset or punish my child. However, ultimately the discipline has to take place because failing to discipline could lead to bigger issues down the road if the negative active or behavior isn’t corrected.
In law enforcement, this type of parental/child dilemma happens frequently between supervisors and subordinates. Supervisors who get promoted and begin to supervise their friends can quickly find themselves in positions where discipline needs to take place to stop poor habits or practices that the officer is engaging in. These new supervisors are often faced with the dilemma of risking the anger and disdain of their friend or administering the discipline required of the position they undertook.
I actually witnessed on a large scale this very scenario playing out in an agency I worked for. The agency had a very large community policing unit. When the unit first started, they enjoyed early successes and were the darlings of the agency. The community loved the unit and the unit did good work. After several years, the unit became lackadaisical towards their responsibilities and mission and it didn’t take long for this reputation to spread across the entire agency. Despite a common and well founded belief that specific unit members were taking advantage of their assignment, the agency made no efforts to rain in the officers. One day, two community officers were having lunch at a restaurant next to the local driver’s license branch. The officers failed to hear a radio call for emergency assistance at the driver’s license branch where an officer had responded for a call for service. On arrival, the officer ended up in a serious fight with a suspect and needed assistance. The community officers had developed a habit of turning their radios down and failed to hear the radio call. The dispute ended up causing the disbandment of the special unit and discipline for the officers. This is an example of the climate that can develop when leadership takes the path of least resistance and fails to adequate address an issue they were made aware of. This was an example of leadership that failed to part ways with subordinates who were doing wrong. It is also an example of how you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time. But you can’t fool all of the people all of the time (Phillips, 1992).
Jefferson Davis
During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln is said to have had a conversation with General William Sherman in regards to Sherman’s request order for what he was to with Jefferson Davis if he was captured.
Sherman specifically asked if Lincoln wanted Davis captured or if he should be allowed to escape. In typical Lincoln fashion, he answer the question with a story. The story was about a man who practiced abstinence from alcohol. On a hot day, he was asked if we wanted some lemonade by a friend. The friend also asked he wanted something “stronger” in his drink. The man replied “I am opposed to it on principle, but if you manage to put in a drop unbeknownst to me, I guess it wouldn’t hurt me much (Phillips, 1992).” The story signaled that he would not be opposed to allowing Davis to escape. Lincoln was already known for his lack of a desire to punish confederates for the fight against the north. He was more concerned on the reconciliation of the country. This was in line with Lincoln’s principle of not acting out of vengeance or spite.
Within the law enforcement profession, the climb up the ladder can be a bumpy one. People who were once friends now compete with one another for promotions or assignments to special units. In addition, it is not abnormal for officers to generate rivalries with other officers for often petty things. The job provides plenty of opportunities for future supervisors to exercise their command or supervisory authority over others once they advance far enough up the latter. Certainly leaders that do would operating in a manner the opposite of what the Lincoln principles
teach.
I have had the opportunity to supervise several employees over the course of my career who have developed poor reputations within the agency. In the case of one particular officer, the officer lied to city officials regarding a change I instituted in their assignment. This move had been authorized in advance by my command staff so I was covered, but the officer clearly attempted to get me into trouble because I made a supervisory call they did not agree with. Within a few months, the officer transferred out of the assignment prior to anymore issues taking place. After several years, I began supervising this employee again and it left me with a judgement call to make. I could allow myself to be bothered by the employees actions that were now several years old, or I could choose to let the past be left in the past and try to start fresh. Although it was hard, this was the decision I made. I would love to say that the employee respect my extending the olive branch but that is not the case. The officer continued to be a supervisory challenge for some time, but I am confident that I handled the situation in the correct manner. It would have been unprofessional to let the actions, that were now several years old, play into my attitudes. A few of Lincoln’s principles that were used were, “Have malice toward none and charity for all,” “Touch people with the better angels of your nature,” “No purpose is served by punishing merely for punishment’s sake (Phillips, 1992).”
Silence
Of all of Lincoln’s stories, the theme of this story has likely been said by every member of every police department in the United States at one point or another. Lincoln told the story to a group of politicians who were making demands and complaining on how he was running the war effort. The story asked the politicians to suppose that all the property they were worth was placed into the hands of one person to carry across the river on a rope. He asked if they would shake the cable and keep shouting orders for how he was to cross the river on the rope, or would they keep silent until he arrived safely to the other side. He went on to say that “the government is carrying an enormous weight. Untold treasure is in their hands. Don’t badger them. Keep silence and we will get you safely across (Phillips, 1992).”
In the law enforcement profession, officers are constantly being instructed by the community, politicians, the media, and others how to do police work. It seems these days that no matter what situation an officer finds themselves in, they will find a person or two who want to tell them how to do their job, even when they have no practical experience in doing it. It is probably the worst with the politicians because they hold the purse strings to government and they always like to hold the control over the equipment that police purchase or the training that they need or don’t need.
One of the best examples of this can be seen in the controversy following the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Community groups, state and federal politicians, and the media began to decry the police use of “military weapons and tanks” as tools to quell the rioting in Ferguson. Police officers around the country who have been in similar situations responded by simply saying walk a mile in our shoes but the media and other groups refused to listen. In reality, law enforcement doesn’t use tanks as tanks have offensive weapons and the vehicle police use only have ballistic protection and are labeled as rescue vehicles. They allow police to respond to a scene safely when a perpetrator has a firearm. In addition, they decried the use of military assault weapons by police. However, more and more frequently, officers are tasked with going up against criminals who are themselves armed with similar weapons. The last thing an officer should be expected to do is confront an armed perpetrator with a less capable weapon that the criminal themselves. However, these explanations fell on deaf ears. The fears of officers were realized only a few short weeks ago when two officers were shot in front of the Ferguson Police Department. One of Lincoln’s principles that stands out is, “Don’t give up all your key points of strength or the competition may “beat out your brains (Phillips, 1992).”