I wrote this piece in 2012. It was my tribute to Coach John Czap and became a part of my book, “On the Shoulders of My Teachers.”
“I admit High School P.E. was not my favorite class. It always seemed to me the jocks got the easy A’s and the rest of us might get a B or B+ if we worked very hard. At MHS the P.E. teachers were also the football, track, and wrestling coaches, so if you weren’t on one of these teams, you had an uphill battle. But, other than this little bias, the coaches tried to be fair and the one I remember most was Coach Czap. His rules were simple. “Boys, if I catch anybody lying, cheating, or stealing, I’ll flunk him on the spot.” This rule applied to everyone – jocks and non-jocks alike. Coach Czap wanted to teach more than P.E. He valued honesty, integrity, and fair play and he wanted us to know it.
Much has been said about the importance of posting “The Ten Commandments” in public places, but to me it was far more important to know guys like Coach Czap believed in them and were ready to act on their beliefs. Reading, “Thou shalt not bear false witness” or “Thou shalt not steal” on a bronze plaque isn’t nearly as good as knowing there was at least one person who would hold you accountable if you chose to break the rules. I don’t know if Coach Czap believed in God, but I like to think he did and that God rewards men who stand up for these principles in real life and aren’t content to just post them on a wall like some kind of corporate memo.
We knew where we stood with Coach Czap. He didn’t tolerate lying, cheating or stealing. He also didn’t put up with some boys picking on other boys. He had no use for bullies or even guys who would pick on others for being smaller or less physically mature. He cultivated an attitude of respect and was not the least bit tolerant of even a jock who disrespected others. To him, lying, cheating, and stealing were signs of disrespect – the perpetrator thought he was above others and not subject to the same rules. But if life is like a game, then we must all follow the same rules and if we don’t some penalty should result. This is the clear thinking of a high school coach, and it has made sense to me in many areas. No treatise on government or society can put it more clearly. A game can’t be fair without rules. And life’s rules must apply to everyone or there is no fairness, no justice. If lying, cheating and stealing are tolerated, what chance does society have? A number of today’s corporate executives should have had a Coach Czap to set them straight. He would have flunked them on the spot and they might not have made it into Harvard Business School. Maybe the corporate world could use a few more people like Coach Czap.”
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It seems to me this reflection is relevant in light of the recent effort to post The Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. Despite the good intentions, I wonder what message will be received. Some persons in high places have little regard for rules and laws. Adultery, greed, fraud, and lying about one’s political opponents all happen on a regular basis. Yet, some believe posting The Ten Commandments will set our young people straight and make them “fear God” again.
But what example are we setting? Half the country thinks it’s OK to break a few commandments as long as their candidate is the one breaking them. Cheating on one’s wife, as well as committing slander and fraud, are acceptable if one is the favorite of his party. When money and power trump morality and people place “winning” before following God, I question what having The Ten Commandments in classrooms will accomplish.
My father cautioned me about “people who wear religion on their sleeves,” as if professing a belief is the same as acting on it. Jesus warned, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” To expect a public display of The Ten Commandments to inoculate children against doing wrong is at best a mistake. It might make some of us feel good, but what will our children learn? It seems to me they will ignore what the words say and instead learn from what their elders do. No doubt some will see the hypocrisy of posting “commandments” while those in high places fail to act on them. Others will interpret the disconnect between words and actions as a reason to find their own code of conduct. What is worn on the sleeve can easily be changed. We need to set a better example. To do that, we need a deeper understanding than can be expressed by a few words on a wall.
MurrayWorks 