High flight
Feb 24, 2022
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — Wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air…
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark or even eagle flew —
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. By John Magee
I just watched a movie called “flight” with Denzel Washington, and there was some nudity in the beginning which, like the “wolf on wall street” (I am guessing because I turned W.O.W. movie off because of the graphic drug use and nudity) was used to be indicative of someone with addiction problems. In the movie, the main character Denzel (whip), is a very competent pilot who seems to be stuck on “self destruct mode”. Though he is able to save most of the passengers on his plane, when it malfunctions (because of his skill) his addictions are responsible for many other destructions, and he seems either oblivious or incapable of turning his life around.
The woman who was his girlfriend, who believed in him, died on the flight trying to save a kid, and in order to save himself, Whip was going to lie and say that she was the one who consumed alcohol on the flight (it is a crime for the pilots or crew to consume on the job). That question by the FAA, about the alcohol, was the point at which Whip drew a mental line in the sand, that he could not cross. He did not want to blame his girlfriend, and since she was not there to defend herself, he could have blamed the empty alcohol bottles onto her, but instead he told the truth and admitted his addiction. So because of this, I believe he showed that he ultimately had integrity, in addition to skill, and so there was a redeeming quality to this movie.
Like others who trust in God, I believe in radical reliance on Truth.
It is said that “the truth will set you free” and even though Whip ended up in prison, he said in an interview later, that he felt freer than he ever felt before IN prison, because when he on the outside he was addicted, which was an “enslavement”.
He apologized to everyone he had hurt, his passengers who died, the crew who died and their families as well as to his ex wife and children.
There is power in an apology, as it takes a strong man to accept responsibilities for his own wrongdoings, and apologize. In the movie, it was especially hard for Whip because most people saw him as a hero. If no one knows except you, that you have done something very wrong, facing the public disappointment and anger by telling the truth, is something that requires integrity and inner strength to do.
Hebrews in the bible says “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins”. In order to have forgiveness, a person has to be deliberate in avoiding sin, addictions, lies, and deceit. Without truth and genuine contrition, an apology is of no value.
My mom and I love to play scrabble and she beats me and even though I know a lot of words, she knows a lot more legitimate words. In that game, a person has to work to figure out how to use the best words, but none of the words count unless they are legit. In the same way, an apology can be flowery and beautiful but if it is insincere, it does not count for anything.
I think that being able to apologize sincerely, is the reason the movie was called flight, because it was not about keeping a plane in the air as much as it was about raising ones own integrity, overcoming addictions, with each individual trying to do their highest sense of right.