Yesterday I watched my good friend Jake become a special agent in the FBI. After months of difficult training and time away from family, he took the oath of office and received his badge from the FBI Director Christopher Wray:
“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…”
Jake was my roommate for five years, the best man at my wedding, and someone I think of as a brother. Last year he was an accountant – now he is a law enforcement officer in the nation’s preeminent agency, home to fictional heroes like Johnny Utah and thousands of real ones whose names we’ll never know. It’s a career move few would make, but one that’s made me unbelievably proud of my friend – and, if we’re being honest, a little envious. Oh, to be brave enough to do something like that.
In his keynote address, Director Wray reminded the newly-minted agents of the challenge that lay ahead. The job required sacrifice and long hours that the public would never understand or appreciate. It asked a lot of the families behind the scenes. It could be dangerous. One line stood out among the rest: “You’ve chosen service over self.”
As a society, we honor those who make this sacrifice. We thank our troops, law enforcement and first responders for their service. We write tributes to the activists, organizers and volunteers who hold our communities together. We esteem those who choose passion over profit in their careers.
Whenever I come face-to-face with sacrifices like these, I’m inspired to do the same. Even war movies, the 9/11 Memorial or a good book can send me into a tailspin of self-doubt. What am I dedicating my life to? Why are my choices so selfish? The more honorable routes I see others taking make me jealous. I should enlist, or become a police officer or teacher. If Jake is brave enough to do it, why aren’t I?
Eventually, these powerful moments recede from memory, and the calling weakens. I find many reasons – some good – why a pivot to a life of service isn’t right for me, or I simply refocus my sights on what I want to do. I turn the choice into a binary one – service or self – and choosing the former doesn’t seem like an option.
But not everyone can dedicate their career to a higher calling – nor should they. The FBI receives thousands of applications a year for a select number of special agent positions. The world needs lawyers, accountants, salespeople and marketers to function. Not all of us will carry a badge and put our lives on the line.
What we can do is recognize that service over self takes many forms. It thrives within “normal” paths just as strongly as it does in more overtly-selfless ones. It shows up in colleagues going to bat for candidates with less experience or fewer credentials to get in the door. It shows up in family putting the needs of their kin over their own. It shows up in acts big and small: buying someone food on the street or running back into the towers on 9/11.
The inspiration we all feel in the face of true sacrifice is a powerful motivator. But that power goes to waste if we decide the only way to honor it is a big, brave gesture of our own. Not all of us are that special.
What I should ask myself, sitting in that auditorium at Quantico, is not whether to become an FBI agent. What I should ask myself is how I can honor Jake’s sacrifice with acts of service of my own.
- What do I bring to the table that I can share with others?
- What do I solemnly swear to support and defend?
– Emmett
What I’m Reading:
I Just CAN – Arnold Schwarzenegger
“When the problems of the world seem huge, embrace the small things. That’s what being a human is all about. We adapt and we overcome and we find ways to live even when there are disasters and tragedies because we know it’s our job to live.”
Below Surface – Robert Glazer
“It’s always easy to make judgments based on what we see on the surface. But while our pasts don’t completely dictate, or excuse, our behavior in the present, working to see these connections helps build understanding.”