Obama Did the Right Thing, at the Right Time, for the Right Reason - Rescuing Captain Richard Phillips

Presidents are supposed to, in many of our opinions anyway, follow the motto: Do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason. Way to go Mr President! Sending Navy Seals in to rescue the Captain of the ship hijacked by pirates recently fulfills that tried and true compass of morality.

Captain Richard Phillips is a hero. He convinced the pirates off the shores of Kenya to release the 19 member crew of the Maersk Alabama, a cargo ship. He volunteered to stay behind and was held tied and gagged inside a lifeboat, surviving as one crew men stated, a 120 degree oven for days. He was a hero who most likely wouldn't be alive today were it not for the "moral intelligence" of our Defense Department and our Commander in Chief. Three of the hijacking pirates were killed during the rescue and a fourth is in custody. Captain Phillips was not harmed but was, according to the Defense Department, in imminent danger.

There is a new book coming out at the end of this month, authored by John Bradshaw, entitled Reclaiming Virtue: How To Develop The Moral Intelligence To Do The Right Thing At The Right Time For the Right Reason. Although I'm not a terrific fan of how to be a better person books, this one intrigues me. My son went to a high school for "young, Catholic men" that proclaimed, "__________ men do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason." I've been fascinated by that notion ever since.

What is it that makes a man or woman "good?" Do they live by the Ten Commandments? Do they go out of their way to be nice? Feed and shelter their offspring? Speak kindly of everyone they meet? What do they do? What inspires us to say he or she is a good person? What is "good" anyway in that context? Can you define it? What makes a government, a man or woman, a way of life, "morally intelligent?" I want to know where that moral courage comes from. What gives someone the fortitude to do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason - when clearly many cannot? Whatever it is, just as clearly our government and our President, and our Navy Seals, did just that today.

Believe me when I tell you that politics is not a noble profession. It is infused with egomaniacs, blow-hards and cowards. Lately, it seems one cannot turn on the television without seeing members of this profession indicted, convicted and despised. Thievery and greed runs rampant among this group. Yet we are, many of us, enthralled. Then we are reminded why. No matter any of us think about the politics of the Obama Administration, the politics of the White House,the Bush Administration, or most of Washington for that matter, this was a day to be proud to be an American.