Let the skies fall
Fiat Justitia, Ruat Caelum — Do justice, let the skies fall
In these days of uncertainty — due to the coronavirus — we see very contradictory statements flying across our screens. Scientists say one thing, politicians another, and many members of the public seem to know better than anybody else on social media. I’d rather take after the late, great contrarian Christopher Hitchens and doubt and question everything and make a point of that.
In my recent article — De Omnibus Dubitandum — I plea for doubting everything, not in a nihilistic way, but rather to keep a check on every claim that people make. If you don’t do that, who will? Worst case, nobody does, and false claims gain footing with possibly harrowing consequences depending on the context. For instance, if nobody questions Mr. Trump’s statements when he implies that jugging down disinfectant should kill the coronavirus within a minute, then gullible people might be inclined to believe him and accidentally kill themselves or one of their loved ones.
It might feel difficult to ask the questions that nobody is asking. The consequences could be overwhelming. That’s when another epigram that I take from Hitchens’ book — “Letters to a young contrarian” — comes into play. “Fiat Justitia, Ruat Caelum” is Latin for, “Do justice, let the skies fall”. It entails that one does the right thing and accepts the consequences, however big they might be — even as grand as the skies falling.
When confronting Mr. Trump, you might be berated on Twitter, in CAPITALS. In a business situation, however, the consequences might be truly huge. If you’re instantaneously fired from the job, then you really hit an open nerve. I’ve seen this happen once, not to myself, but to another coach whom I admire very much. She was trying to train a management team and all in the room had their laptops open and their phones out, and they kept busy using their devices. The coach called them out for their lack of focus and told them to put down their phones and close their laptops. That was the last meeting the coach facilitated at that company — she got fired. In my opinion, the coach did the right thing by calling out the managers. She did justice to her dignity as a coach and to the training session itself, and she let the skies fall.
Calling out injustice — or improper behavior — doesn’t always end with the sky falling fast. Another likely scenario is one I’ve seen happen more often. The coach does justice to a precarious situation, wants to let the skies fall to make a breakthrough, … and stays in limbo. Basically, nothing seems to have changed. In reality, however, the relationship with management, or with a team, has been tarnished by the doing of justice, which is not made clear at once. I’ve seen disenchanted coaches struggle after possible breakthrough situations that slowly ended in the dying of a flame.
If a coach is able to use such a situation as a learning ground for all involved, then all praise to the coach. But if the coaching job lingers on to no avail into nothingness, it would suit the coach if another justice would be done and the whole thing is called off. Let the skies fall. I can only hope to be as brave if I ever find myself in such a situation.
