Living, Leading, Following & The Centrality of Ethics: A Scene for These (All?) Times

The more turbulent the times, the more important solid ground.  The harder the choices, the more important first principles.  The tougher the road, the longer the trail, the whiter the river, the more important one’s companions.  As said by the nearly ageless keeper of the grail in “Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade”, 
“ …choose wisely, for while the true Grail will bring you life, the false Grail will take it from you.…. “

Here's a scene from the miniseries (anyone remember them?) Lonesome Dove, based on the book and stuffed with then and future stars.  This whole clip runs just under 2 minutes and the key bit 90 seconds from the beginning.

For those in a particular hurry, here’s the background.  The character Jake rode with a group that included former Texas Rangers.  Later, Jake fell in with a set of riders as he looked for safety in numbers on a trip.  His new companions’ subsequent actions showed them to be gruesome outlaws.  Jake did not actively participate in the gruesomeness, but he watched, issued no notable protest, and continued on with them.  In the scene in the link below, Jake’s former fellow-travelling friends (Gus first among them) have diverted from their own trek and tracked down the outlaws to administer what they see as justice…to one and all.

Jake: “Oh, you don’t need to tie me up, Newt.  Hell, I didn’t kill anybody. I just fell in with these boys to get through the territory.  Hell, I was goin’ leave them first chance I got.”

Gus: “I wish you’d taken that chance a little earlier, Jake. A man who will go along with 5 killins’, taking his leavin’ a little slow.  Go ahead, Newt.”

Jake:”….You know me… I ain’t no killer…  {‘they killed those people’}… You know I ain’t no criminal…”

Gus: “You know how it works, Jake.  You ride with an outlaw, you die with an outlaw. Sorry you crossed the line.”

Jake: “I didn’t see no line, Gus.  I was just trying to get through the territory without getting scalped.  That’s all.”

Gus: “I’m sure that’s true, Jake.”

Ride with an Outlaw, Die with an Outlaw

The scene.  The code. The dedication to the code…or not.  The ties that bind… or not.

In these hard times, may we all choose our companions and our deeds wisely.  May we all exhibit that wisdom in how we lead and how we follow.