You never take off your letters
 

One of my sisters sent me the link to this blog post. As the title of the thread says, that's what the article is about. It's very inspiring... :)

http://apathymyth.blogspot.com/2010/...r-letters.html

I get the message, but it's a little preachy. It's one of those concepts that is true and important to impress upon members, but can be used to guilt trip or coerce. We also all represent whatever religious group we belong too, our family name, any clubs we belong to, etc. There's a fine line between taking it seriously and taking it too seriously.

I heard it used and abused instead of celebrated when I was an active. It was used to, for instance, shame a girl who had a little more to drink than she could handle (instead of reminding her nicely to learn from that mistake) and turned into a punishment and burden. I think it's important for us all to remember that we do represent our letters...and ourselves, our communities, any other groups we belong to, our families...the list goes on and on. Basically, it's best to conduct yourself in a way that will make you and those that you represent proud. And that includes being forgiving when others mess up, and leaving room for your own mistakes.

A little preachy? It's way preachy.

Sorry, but when I got to this part:

When you get a job and go to work for a company or organization, you represent us. When you commit your life to that special person, someday, you represent us.

my eyes rolled far enough back in my head that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to pull them back.

He had some good things to say. But overall, it was just over the top. The value in what he had to say was trumped by the hyperbole.

This.

What he seems to be missing is that this goes both ways.

He also seems to be missing that "honor" and "responsibility" aren't quantitative things.

And yes, this is used so much more to shame than it is to inspire that the message in general is completely lost.

As far as "committing my life to that special person" - well, just because XYZ man #1 was a dickhead and lousy in bed, doesn't mean I'll never date or associate with another XYZ. If I felt that way, I wouldn't have some of the best friends ever. I believe I'm the norm, not the exception.

Amen to the bolded.

Word.

I follow TJ Sullivan's blog, and in terms of organizational structure and management he's right on the money. However, my biggest criticism of him is that he's dramatic and he exaggerates things - especially hazing and risk management incidents. (Yes, hazing is bad, no we should not lose faith in the fraternal movement because of instances of it.)

Don't write him off, but always read him with a critical eye (true of many things in life).

His general idea is sound, but yeah he's dramatic. It just isn't quite as critical as he makes it.