A Long Year

Individuals in positions of prestige are often the victims criticism, both justified and unwarranted. After reading “A Long Year”, “Recall”, and the article “After Stevens”, it becomes clear that this distinction fits the subjects of these works aptly. Robert, otherwise known as Bobby, Knight, General Douglas MacArthur, and Justice John Paul Stevens were each long-tenured in their positions and were met with opposition in their ever-changing environments. By exploring their careers, particularly the latter half, it becomes clear that these three individuals were all faced with difficulties, partially due to the dynamic nature of the world, as well as the length of their terms and opinions on how things should be done that clash with colleagues and superiors. Though well respected by the public, these great men were forced to deal with adversity because of their strong convictions.
In the case of Bobby Knight, “Long Year” makes it clear that despite his success and popularity amongst the University of Indiana staff, students, and alumni, coach Knight was targeted by the new Athletic staff from the start: “She [Mary Ann Rohleder, associate athletic director] told Steve Downing, one of my former players who was also an associate athletic director, that she’d do everything she could to get me fired, a year before it happened.” Despite this forewarning and numerous opportunities to exit of his own will, Coach Knight never erred from his stance of commitment to his recruits, to whom he felt a person responsibility to coach and mentor. The first attempt to fire him was both feeble and unsuccessful due to testimonies and video evidence that proved the charges of assault on a student were unfounded. The highly exaggerated charge that ended the Knight’s thirty year career, that he displayed “disrespect for the alumni by not agreeing to speak at previously scheduled functions” was met with widespread anger, and resulted in a student protest that only Knight himself could calm. A humble, classy man to the end, Robert Knight never responded out of hate. At his farewell address, tens of thousands attended. Knight talked to the students and only thanked them for their love and support. In contrast with the way that he was being forced out of, Knight’s good nature and benevolence in the face of adversity couldn’t be clearer.
Similar to Knight, General MacArthur drew the ire of those in charge. President Truman and he differed on the course of action in the Korean peninsula. While the President wanted to work toward an armistice, MacArthur advocated, and publicly spoke of, firm action to crush the opposition instead of laying down arms when victory is attainable. His statement impeded Truman’s cause, but drew favor with the citizens of the U.S. This alleged insubordination sparked the idea of replacing the General, however the Presidents hasty methods of doing so only led to public protest of the decision both at home and abroad in Tokyo, where MacArthur was stationed. Upon his return to the States, Douglas MacArthur was embraced with a warm farewell by the people of Japan, and met with a hero’s welcome in California; even the government and schools were given time off, which speaks to the magnitude of respect afforded to the General. His successor, Matthew Ridgeway commented that one cannot replaced MacArthur, they can only hope to follow in his footsteps. Despite this widespread popularity and respect, MacArthur’s outspoken nature sealed his fate.
Justice John Paul Stevens, at 90 years old, was on the verge of becoming both the oldest and longest tenured Justice in Supreme Court History before his retirement in June of 2010. The article “After Stevens” captures the amount of change that has taken place since Stevens first took office in 1975 to the present. He held a high position in his field just as Knight and MacArthur had; however, he differs from the others in that he has changed stances on issues such as the death penalty. He recognized the need for the law to be interpreted, not verbatim, but in the frame of what the founding fathers intended for the country. This seemingly amiable view, however, did not exempt Stevens from conflict in his long career. He too took stances in opposition to the President, in this case G. W. Bush, in regard to the rights of prisoners of war. He also drew the criticism of colleague Justice Scalia, who held that the law should be enforced exactly as written, and leaves no room for interpretation. Though sometimes on the losing side of the majority vote, Justice Stevens was not forced out of office for his stances as Knight and MacArthur despite being met with turbulent disagreement at times. The connection of the three still hold strong, however; These men, who held positions of power, in one way or another, for long tenures were faced with difficulty due to the dynamic nature of the world and opinions held by those in it. This conflict of opinion shaped and ,in two cases, directly ended the career of these great men.
In summation, the excerpt from Shakespeare’s King Henry VII seems to capture the spirit of the three texts. Man puts forth his best effort and hope, but at times a killing frost can strike in the form of adversity. These three men, employed in greatly different fields, walked similar paths, holding strong to their beliefs. Though it would have been easy to abandon their convictions and take the agreeable stance instead, these men did not abandon their beliefs for the will of others. Though in varying ways, this stance sealed their fate, they are alike in that staying true to themselves led to success in their respective fields and respect and admiration of the public, even when they were not on the victorious side of things.