Changing Course

“Funny thing about a compass. It can show you true North and in doing so point you toward your desired destination but it will not reveal what lies between there and here” Abraham Lincoln

The legal system in this country is founded upon and relies heavily on the concept of precedent. Legal briefs supporting motions before the court are based almost exclusively on appellate decisions made regarding previous cases. Lawyers attempt to sway the court in a positive direction for their client by drawing connections between the current circumstances of their case and previous decisions made in other trials. However, the most important thing that must be done when citing a case in support of an argument is a research of the history of that case. The law, which on the surface can appear to be rigid is an ever-evolving entity. Decisions that have been made in past cases can then be overturn in subsequent cases making the conclusion in the former invalid. The law changes course as a reflection of societal evolution and moral refinement.

Life, just like our legal system, is heavily reliant on precedent. Each of us has a certain level of access to the collective knowledge compiled over the countless generations that have proceeded our own existence. All previous invention, innovation and discovery forms a foundation for us to build upon. All that has been discovered through the centuries of human existence informs who we are and the decisions we make. All past knowledge has value but it does not create a script to be followed nor should it exclusively rule current decisions. In many cases time has proven previous held ideas to be antiquated; that which was once an absolute on which decisions were based in the past is debunked and summarily dismissed in the present. Subsequently an old course is discarded and a new one taken.

Years ago I was coaching a soccer team of young boys and girls. At the end of the season it was incumbent upon me to give a speech, present a couple of awards to deserving players and pass out participation medals to each member of the team. I was more than happy to speak about the team and give out the performance based awards but I hated the idea of medals given for participation. In my view participation was a choice each player had made when joining the team and not an accomplishment to be acknowledge with a medal. I informed the parents of my views concerning the medals and the fact that I would not be giving them out. A couple of parents questioned me about my motives but they accepted my reasoning and acquiesced. At the event I was then approached by a third parent who inquired about my intention to withhold the medals. After listening to my reasoning she told me that she needed me to give out the medals. She went on to explain that her younger son had already received a participation medal from his team and if her son who played for me did not get a medal it would cause the two of them to fight. I still was of the opinion that the medals were unnecessary but this new information, which I had not remotely considered while making my decision, changed my course of action. I went out to my truck, retrieved the medals and when the time came I passed them out with a smile on my face.  

In the course of every life thousands of decisions of varying importance are made; each is arrived at by using the facts at hand as a basis for future action. It is an informed estimation of how the future will unfold. It is by no means a guess but does not guarantee success. All that can be achieved in the moment is to approach each decision with a level of diligence that is based on currently known facts and the beliefs they support. If future events or scrutiny of a plan proves that the course we decided upon is flawed then it is incumbent upon us to use that new understanding to change course. This appears to be an obvious supposition but in many cases, individually and collectively, even when presented with new information we do not change course but instead hold true to our current path. We defend our past decisions because we believe that if they are found to be flawed then we will be considered intellectually inferior. We wilt under the constant bombardment of a belief system that supports the idea that changing course is a sign of being fickle and weak. We justify our existing position with history and tradition instead of using these factors as a stepping stone to logical progress. We place more value on maintaining image and power than applying innovative thinking. By allowing ourselves to fall victim to internal and external negative forces we doom ourselves to failure. If a plan is based on a collection of self-serving facts or influenced by human frailty the ability to dispassionately evaluate that plan is significantly diminished and thus a change of course becomes stymied. 

It takes intelligence to make a decision that drives a course of action. It takes confidence to encourage dissenting views of that decision. It takes courage to acknowledge the flaws in that decision and change course.