Thursday, May 29, 1997

Lt. Flinn's 'apology' not nearly enough

By Cal Thomas

Brenda Lee should have been called upon to sing her golden oldie hit, "I'm Sorry," for the Lt. Kelly Flinn saga that will end in a few days when Flinn is given a general discharge from the Air Force for lying, disobedience and adultery. The lyrics go, "I'm sorry, so sorry, please accept my apology. But I was unwise, and I was too blind to see ... oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh-yeah."

Flinn and her lawyer, the appropriately named Frank Spinner, managed to divert attention to Flinn and away from military rules and regulations designed for the benefit of all and the achievement of a mission. In the style of a self-obsessed culture, the public was asked to focus on how Flinn "feels" and on her emotions.

The feelings and rights of the wife of the man with whom she had an adulterous relationship are not important. Those who believe the military is the last impediment to their restructuring of society are treating Airman Gayla Zigo the way some treat Paula Jones. Zigo has become the Air Force equivalent of trailer trash, whose rights and expectations of fair treatment mean nothing when there are greater goals to pursue.

Book and movie deals and even a possible commercial airline job for Flinn (United?) are in the works. In the Nineties, commerce has replaced duty, honor, country.

Flinn said she made "mistakes" and "errors in judgment" and that she only wished "that someone in my chain of command would have asked what was happening in my life."

Times have changed since I was in the military. My Army drill sergeant once told me if I was looking for sympathy I wasn't going to find it there. "We don't even have it in the dictionary," he said. He was right. I found a dictionary on base, looked up the word "sympathy" and saw that someone had cut it out.

A New York Times editorial said Flinn should have been offered counseling. The feminization of the military apparently means fainting couches will need to be supplied along with more traditional gear. The military might eventually be forced to do away with weapons because someone will assert "war is icky."

Flinn didn't formally apologize, preferring the increasingly popular (and profitable) victim-martyr approach. She was "led down the path of self-destruction and career destruction" by the man she "loved." Gayla Zigo was more to the point. Zigo said when Flinn indicated she wanted to settle down, she didn't think it would be with her husband. There will be no book contract for Zigo and no new career opportunities.

Some definitions are helpful in understanding the attorney-client prose submitted to the Secretary of the Air Force in an attempt to save Flinn's pilot seat. Apology is defined as "a formal justification: defense; excuse; an admission of a formal error or discourtesy accompanied by an expression of regret; a poor substitute." That's not very compelling. It could indicate regret for getting caught.

Contrast the definition of "apology" with the morally purifying definition of "repent": "To turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life; to feel regret and contrition." If Kelly Flinn had repented instead of half-heartedly apologizing in a manner that spoke more about herself and her career than about the military and moral laws she violated, there's the possibility she might have fared better. But few in her situation repent today, because no one sins any more. If anyone does anything " 'bad" (a relative term), it is because they are " 'dysfunctional," or because their parents refused them the dog they wanted as a child.

Virtually every other institution in America has been damaged by members of the self-indulgent baby boom generation, from marriage to the presidency, even Disney. The military has been the final holdout. If the military goes down, what will be left? Oh well, someone can always say they're sorry, issue an apology and make us feel better.

Los Angeles Times Syndicate