Years ago, I taught an American Literature class with Jean Allen. Co-teaching was never one of my favorite activities and I approached this class with about the same thrill as the students did. As English teachers did all across the country, I began September with The Scarlet Letter. After the first three chapters, the students gave up. So, I cajoled, coaxed, quizzed, browbeat, and bulldogged my way through the book. At the end of it, I gave a test that most of the class failed. Afterwords, Jean looked at me and asked ≥So, what did they learn over the last four weeks?≤

Arrogance is something I know a thing or three about. I needed the next month to earn back the trust of the class so that we could work together as opposed to my working them. I grew to appreciate a comment Don Maiocco made: ≥Leading a class is like walking a sheep dog. The trick is making it want to go where you want it to go.≤

Fred Raskin could join me in an arrogance pas de deux. Either that, or he is massively stupid. A week before this meeting, the local paper comes out blasting the SSA and calling Nantucketers to the meeting. The ≥in-float≤ magazine has been a target for months, as has the advertising idea. Winning the hearts and minds with J.Crew catalogues wasnπt going to do it. If nothing else, he needs to know that Nantucket is enemy territory. In July, both of them accused Grace of mis-representing us and met with a fire-storm.

So, a prudent leader would come to Nantucket ready for battle. First, Paula Peters would be right by my side, unless she is in a hospital, in which case I would be by her side. If everything goes wrong, feed her to the wolves. Second, I would carry some information with me. Telling Chris Perry that you ≥donπt know≤ how much money the J. Crew people are giving you is inexcusable for a manager making six figures. Finally, in the face of the leaders of the Chamber of Commerce, Board of Selectmen, Visitor Services, and the liason to the State House, I might concede the point and table the idea for ≥further study.≤

But, no. Raskin prepared for this meeting by lining up his support on the Board and ignoring everything else. Falmouth, New Bedford, and the Vineyard were in his bedroom. They knew about J. Crew. Grace didnπt. Raskin came to Nantucket having made the deal necessary to win the board room vote. Oak Bluffs got two more weeks of service, Woods Hole lost the food concession, and New Bedford gets the sweetheart deal. From Raskinπs bureaucratic roach hole, he had lined up the insects. As long as those three votes are firm, he could do what he wants (sound familiar, Christine?). Come to Nantucket, eat a danish, drink some coffee, scurry out of the light, vote, then go home and dig through the trash.

Arrogance is the loss of perspective. When you feel that you are the biggest dog in the alley, you get a little full of yourself and you forget that there are a lot of other alleys and a lot of other dogs. Fred Raskin might be the Machiavelli of Chihuahuas, but he is still a Chihuahua. The whole wide world is larger than his agenda.

Humility is living in perspective. William Macomber didnπt live out his retirement hammering his greatness at everyone around him. The man who took phone calls from presidents could serve office detention. The ambassador who played the ≥Angelπs Game≤ in Syria and Turkey could serve on a school board. The director of the MET could fund raise for the town library. Bill Macomber was educated in the ≥non sibi≤ (not for self) spirit at Andover and lived his life that way.

Asking Fred Raskin, master of the memo, to live the ≥non sibi≤ spirit might be a bit much. Instead, maybe he could look at his paycheck and think about Roesselπs famous line from the summer ≥to whom much is given, much is expected.≤