Obedience Koan

A British, American, and Canadian ship captain are having a drink together on an aircraft carrier.

The British captain says, “Gentlemen, allow me to demonstrate the bravery of the British seaman.”

"You there!" he calls to one of his sailors. “Jump overboard. Swim under the ship and climb back onto the deck.”

The sailor salutes, jumps off the flight deck, falls 60 feet to the water, swims under the keel, climbs back up and salutes his commander again.

“That," says the captain, "is courage."

“Ha! That's nothing,” scoffs the American. "Sailor!" he calls out to a crewman. “Jump off the bow, swim down the keel to the stern and report back."

The American sailor salutes, leaps off the bow, swims the length of the ship underwater, and climbs up the transom. Dripping before his commander, he salutes again.

"And that," his captain says, "is courage."

Without a word, the Canadian captain turns to one of his crew and says, “You saw what the American just did. I order you to do the same."

The sailor salutes and says, “You can fuck right off, sir!”

The captain turns back to his companions.

“That, gentlemen, is courage."


(Photo courtesy of the Leslie-Judge Company and Wikimedia Commons.)