Hiram College
Intimate learning, Global reach
Roger F. Cram
330-569-5104
Modeling Future Heroes - A Practical Application of Human Values
Inspired by the Tuskegee Airmen
A course in values, problem solving, and conflict resolution based on world
heroes of peace
Copyrighted©2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 by
Roger F. Cram
Who Were the Tuskegee Airmen?
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first, black, military pilots in the United States.
Starting in 1941, they were an experiment designed for failure to
show everyone that blacks did not possess the intelligence, courage, or ability
to fly aircraft. However, despite cruel discrimination, inferior
equipment, unreasonable standards, restricted rights, limited privileges,
insufficient opportunities, and little support, the Tuskegee Airmen succeeded
beyond all reason with unprecedented achievements still unmatched today! They
fought and died for a country that gave them fewer rights as citizens
than were often granted captured German soldiers confined in US military
prisoner-of-war camps.
Because of their incredible success, they were often kept a secret, thus they
did not embarrass the military leaders, congressmen, senators, and
other government officials that were so openly vocal about their impending
failure and incompetence.
How did the Tuskegee Airmen Overcome So Many Obstacles While Under Such Duress?
When the Tuskegee Airmen’s endurance was questioned, their reply was to endure.
When the Tuskegee Airmen’s reliability scrutinized, they
answered with dependability and trust. The Tuskegee Airmen knew responding with
insults to those demeaning them would only make them
demeaning as well, and creating less than excellent work for those believing
them incompetent would only prove their critics correct. To those
who treated them without dignity, they were not indignant, and to those showing
them disrespect, they were not disrespectful. The Tuskegee
Airmen decided how they behaved; they did not base it on how others behaved
toward them. To demonstrate their exceptional internal values,
the Tuskegee Airmen formed an allegiance with those plotting their failure and
demise, and to validate their strength of character, they excelled
beyond expectations for those believing them to be substandard. Therefore, each
morning the Tuskegee Airmen tried to take total control, not
over others, but over how they reacted to them.
The Tuskegee Airmen's ability to accomplish nearly impossible tasks while
operating in an environment of extreme duress is a talent that must
be passed on to others, and the knowledge of how to defeat one's enemies
while maintaining their dignity is a skill that must be preserved for
the enrichment of future generations.
Today’s economy, competing in a world market with other countries paying cheaper
labor, with China and the European Union on the horizon
of becoming dominant economic powers, with many foreign school systems providing
a more rigorous and demanding education for their youth,
we, in this country, need to renew our values, ethics, principles, conflict
resolution techniques, and problem solving abilities if we expect to compete.
The only thing that is certain
anywhere is change, and our country’s reputation, economic dominance,
reliability, and accountability are seemingly
in a state of change throughout the world. It is most timely and necessary that
the Tuskegee Airmen’s values be instilled in this nation – in our schools, in
our youth, in our businesses, in our governmental policies, and in our families –
everywhere!
Overcoming Obstacles - The Tuskegee Airmen's Bread and Butter
Dictionary Definitions of Obstacles: something that impedes one's progress, something that offers resistance to success, something interfering with the completion of one's goals.
The Tuskegee Airmen's
Definition of Obstacles: a welcomed opportunity for growth, an opportunity
to learn and master new abilities, a challenge enriched with the rewards of
self-confidence and wisdom.
What Values do the Tuskegee Airmen's Legacy Provide Our Youth?
A Value System for Leadership Derived from World Heroes of Peace
Inspired by the Tuskegee Airmen’s and Women’s Legacy
Developed by Roger F. Cram from his research into how leaders of peace resolved problems and conflict.Attributes
1. (Behavior) Govern yourself by never allowing another’s behavior to negatively influence your conduct. Your actions are always your responsibility; they are never another’s fault. Determine your behavior from your values, from the kind of person you want to be - never from how others behave toward you.
2. (Change) Encourage positive change, not through criticism, but through your continuous achievements of excellence for all to witness. When criticized by others, offer continual examples of excellence as your only response.
3. (Vision) Envision things as excellent they can be, not as they are, and then strive to create positive change toward these envisioned goals. All great accomplishments started as a vision in someone’s imagination, a vision that others could not see.
4. (Obstacles) Realize that obstacles are not impediments to your goals, but challenges enriched with the rewards of self-confidence and wisdom, welcomed opportunities for growth, and occasions to learn and master new skills. A person having reached a goal without overcoming obstacles has learned nothing and accomplished even less. Conquered obstacles are the only qualifying credentials of heroes and a measure of one's commitment and leadership.
5. (Self-esteem) Enhance your self-esteem, not from the opinions of others, but from your values, from your abilities, from the compassionate causes you have chosen to embrace and the magnitudes of commitment you have expended toward their resolve.
6. (Character) Without regard to consequences, courageously fulfill the obligations of being human by respecting all life, defending the righteous, promoting peace, inspiring compassion, spreading joy, and sharing your assets[1] with those less fortunate. Your true character is manifested by how you behave when no one is watching.
7. (Courage) Honor and respect fear, for it alone offers you an opportunity to demonstrate courage.
8. (Commitment) Welcome temptations and other choices, for without alternatives your "commitments" have no meaning. Leaders earn trust from perseverance and honoring commitments. Never give up. Most perceived failures are not failures at all, but instead successfully completed stepping stones toward the completion of a goal. The only time you can fail is if you quit.
9. (Trust) Trust is the bond in all relationships. It is a measuring stick of your character gradually evolving from consistent reliability over time. Honor all commitments and obligations to everyone regardless of their stature. Your pledge should be as meaningful to a king as to a beggar, for the value of a commitment is determined from its source, not to whom it is directed.
10. (Conflict) While engaging your adversaries and throughout their recovery, always maintain their dignity. This is the only road to lasting peace.
11. (Contentment) Enjoy your journeys more than your victories, for your journeys occupy all your life - your victories but a moment.
12. (Readiness) Protect your abilities and senses from limiting influences,[2] thus staying alert and in readiness for all of life’s challenges and unexpected encounters.
13. (Compassion) Give simply to increase the amount of goodness in the world - often without recognition or reward. Give more to others than you receive in return, and carefully sustain this inequity, with humility, as a distinctive characteristic of your leadership. Honor all life and the environment and demonstrate this conviction through your conduct.
14. (Judging) Observe, but never judge. Seek out the differences in others and then celebrate them, for such diversity [3] is the true potpourri of humanity, is engrained with the total human experience, and will enrich you with the needed wisdom for compassionate leadership.
15. (Recognition) Serve enthusiastically as a witness and spokesperson for the accomplishments, talents, and concerns of others. An attentive leader communicates the issues, ideas, and achievements of those less able to speak for themselves and gives ample recognition for their origin.
16. (Values) Uphold this Value System, especially under adverse conditions, not to please someone else, but to honor the unfaltering principles within you, to validate your character as the type of person you want to be, and to gradually realize the awesome potential of being human.
Copyrighted © by Roger F. Cram July 2005, February 2006 with all rights reserved.
[1]assets = One’s strength, capacity to help, capacity to protect, capacity to defend, and capacity to rescue. One’s abilities, education, talents, insight, wisdom, labor, knowledge, wealth, belongings, property, and any similar thing that can be utilized to bring benefit to another. (Arthur Saunders, Tuskegee Airmen)
[2] limiting influences = anger, frustration, revenge, alcohol, drugs, poor diet, poor physical or mental conditioning, lack of alertness, negative attitude, over aggressiveness, idleness, etc.
[3] diversity = one’s abilities, interests, talents, experiences, beliefs, customs, culture, points-of-view, rituals, influences, networks, assets, and any beneficial characteristic distinguishing one person from another.
New Terms and Levels-of-Learning Created for this Course
The
following terms and levels of learning were created to explain the components of
this course. Each of the 5 sequential levels of learning
bring a higher plain of understanding about humans and their instincts, free
choices, behavior, and values.
Modeling Future Heroes
A Practical Application of Human Values
Problem
Solving, Conflict Resolution, and Goal-Reaching Techniques
The Tuskegee Airmen 4-Test GAP
(Goal Assurance Protection) Matrix
Model
A problem-solving matrix was developed for resolving today's problems based on
how the Tuskegee Airmen solved and addressed their
nearly insurmountable goals. It has been tested in multiple environments and
found extremely effective. This approach may be used in team,
individual, personal, or negotiation
problem solving and emphasizes a positive solution to problems preventing them
from escalating into a crisis.
Care must be used to select the largest goal;
therefore, the problem must be an encountered obstacle (stepping stone)
in reaching your main goal. The problem is never the goal! The
goal is always an extremely high accomplishment when compared to the
problem. There are usually many solutions to the problem that
will hamper or destroy any possibility of reaching the goal. There are
usually fewer solutions to the problem that will assist in reaching the
goal. Therefore, the Tuskegee Airmen’s 4-Test GAP solution solves the
problem while bringing you closer to your goal
without “burning any
bridges” or creating additional problems that must be addressed later. Negative
feelings often create future problems and are avoided in the model. Evaluating
alternative solutions automatically occurs by repeating the model in sequential
phases until a satisfactory action is reached.
The Tuskegee Airmen 4-Test GAP model also helps verify that the problem is
stated correctly. If a satisfactory solution does not start to form after 3
phases, you might want to restate the problem. For example, you might think the
problem is your top salesmen are not working hard enough because sales are
declining, but the real problem is your competition has a better and cheaper
alternative for your product and you need to modernize your product line to
better compete.
The Tuskegee Problem Solving Model also helps avoid harsh instinctual
responses allowing more time for non-instinctual free choice decisions. However,
if a fight-or-flight instinctual solution is required, the model amazingly
allows for such an occurrence.
Summary of Advantages of
Tuskegee Airmen 4-Test GAP Problem Solving Model
The model can be used for business, political, diplomatic, family, and personal problems.
The model can be used for minor annoyance problems through major-crises situations.
The model can be used in individual or in team and group environments.
The model puts the problem into its proper perspective with the goal.
This keeps problem solutions from endangering the goal.
This often eliminates the problem by making it insignificant or turns it into an unforeseen advantage.
If the problem is not stated correctly, which is often the case, it should become apparent within 3 phases.
The Model helps insure that the Desired Solution is realistic, for often there are better solutions than the initially desired results.
The chosen solution always creates an advance toward the ultimate goal.
The chosen solution takes care not to create new problems that must be dealt with later (burning bridges or alienating others).
The model can be used for practicing passive excellence and human-values implementation.For an introductory lesson using the Tuskegee Airmen GAP Problem-Solving Matrix-click on the red tail.
Modeling Future Heroes
A Practical Application of Human Values
The Five Terms Created for this Course
Developed
by
Roger F. Cram from his
research into how heroes of peace resolved problems and conflict.
The Five
New Terms and Levels of Learning Created for this Course
The First Level of Learning - Instinctual Behaviors - Term (1) - Non-Instinctual Free Choice: Learning to recognize counter productive, instinctual, knee-jerk reactions (aggression, dominance, jealousy, possessiveness, the need to always be right, etc.), and being able to make a behavioral change to positively countermeasure these reactions. For example: Using reason and negotiation instead of retaliatory aggression when encountering conflict and maintaining your enemy’s dignity throughout their defeat and recovery. (Researched from The Curse of Being Human by Jack Soules, professor emeritus at Cleveland State University and associate member of the North Coast Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen)
The Second Level of Learning – Term (2) - Passive Excellence: Leading by quiet example while influencing change, not by criticizing others, but by demonstrating ones excellence, talent, and abilities; performing with highest of standards under adverse conditions, not to please others, but to satisfy your internal value system; peacefully confronting ridicule and criticism by repeatedly producing quality in all endeavors. (Developed from the Tuskegee Airmen’s legacy)
The Third Level of Learning – Term (3) - Self-Actualization Engagement: Based only on human values and without regard for consequences, making immediate, accurate, and critical decisions - often during a major crises – guided by the obligation of service to others. Realizing and justifying the immediate need to “…march into hell for a heavenly cause.” (Developed from the Tuskegee Airmen’s legacy and the twenty-one world heroes of peace.)
The Fourth Level of Learning – Term (4) - Ego-Free Compassion: Performing acts of generosity and kindness for others - often strangers - anonymously, without receiving satisfaction, recognition, or reward from any source other than from deep within; giving simply to increase the amount of goodness in the world. (Developed from Hal Reichle, U.S. Army helicopter pilot killed in the 1991 Gulf War & the resulting world-wide organization, SSSSH)
The Fifth Level of Learning – Term (5) - Human-Values Implementation: Empowering our behavior with the tools of non-instinctual free choice, ego-free compassion, passive excellence, and self-actualization engagement, thus becoming the master of ourselves while enriching other people and the world around us. (Developed from the Tuskegee Airmen’s legacy and our impoverished world heroes of peace.)
Developed and Copyrighted © Roger F. Cram, July 2006, from his studies of the Tuskegee Airmen Legacy and other heroes of peace.
Other World Heroes of Peace
Why Do We Need Heroes?
We all need inspirational heroes as role models for our lives, businesses, and family values. Unfortunately, today's heroes are often sports figures, celebrities, and rock stars whose lives are laced with controversy as well as frequent appearances in our over-crowed court rooms. Our young adults, however, need exemplary heroes with proven values demonstrating respect for their fellow humans. They need to understand conflict resolution practices ending in peaceful solutions with dignity and respect being preserved for all sides. They need to understand and value a work ethic showing the rewards for diligence and quality coupled with the many benefits of continuing our education throughout our lives. Forgiveness should preside over revenge, and acceptance and learning from another's diversity should easily outshine the dull embers of prejudice.
Heroes of Peace
We found other heroes of peace have similar value systems and conflict-resolution techniques to the Tuskegee Airmen and women. All these wonderful role models mirror each other's value system indicating common characteristics of human goodness universally used to fight for peace, righteousness, and human dignity. This course, therefore, also studies the similarities between our world heroes of peace and the Tuskegee Airmen serving as positive reinforcement for the remarkable effectiveness of these values.
Our Selected List of Heroes Who Solved Their Problems with Values Similar Benjamin O. Davis Jr. and the Tuskegee Airmen
Susan B. Anthony
Jimmy Carter
George Washington Carver
César Estrada Chávez
Albert Einstein
Mahatma Gandhi
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Abraham Lincoln
Nelson Mandela
Rigoberta Menchu
Rosa Parks
Florence Nightingale
Eleanor Roosevelt
Ginetta Sagan
Princess Dianna Spencer
Albert Schweitzer
Aung San Suukyi
Mother Teresa
Desmond Mpilo Tutu
Booker T. Washington
William Wilberforce
Unknown Heroes of Peace
Students with low self-esteem sometimes respond with reserve to the inspirational stories and accomplishments of our selected heroes. Many of these students believe they are not privileged to either the advantages or opportunities enjoyed by our selected role models. As an example, a student might say, Yes, Nelson Mandela was poor, but he had political connections that opened doors for his career. I do not have these political connections. Another student has commented, The Tuskegee Airmen's accomplishments were remarkable especially considering the extreme prejudice under which they were forced to operate, but they had a rare opportunity that I do not have.
To help combat these negative attitudes, several other heroes were researched that do not appear on the above list. Some of these unknown heroes are almost destitute themselves and often live in ghettoes without electricity and or water. Others are more fortunate, but have dedicated their lives to the betterment of humanity. It was necessary to find heroes of great accomplishments that often have fewer assets and advantages than my students, but utilize Tuskegee Airmen values in their everyday lives. An enlightening realization occurs when students realizes they have far more assets, opportunities, and advantages than many of these unknown heroes. The students then see their unrealized potential and possibilities, become encouraged, develop determination, and look toward the future with renewed hope. It's a wonderful transition to witness.
The heroes working with underprivileged humanity are:
This Course is Being Developed in the Following Formats:
Three Books are Used Throughout this Course:
