The Captain of the Ship

I picture Trump as the Captain of our ship.

Boldly and defiantly,

he steers us into uncharted waters.

This was not on the itinerary

when we signed up for the cruise.

It even may be illegal;

Definitely unethical.

We are scared.

If and when disaster strikes,

I am terrified

he will be the first to abandon ship;

leaving all other passengers

to go down with the sinking ship.

The captain goes down with the ship

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The captain goes down with the ship" is an idiom and maritime tradition that a sea captain holds ultimate responsibility for both his ship and everyone embarked on it, and that in an emergency, he will either save them or die trying. In most instances the captain of the ship forgoes his own rapid departure of a ship in distress, and concentrates instead on saving other people. It often results in either the death or belated rescue of the captain as the last person on board.

History

The concept is closely related to another protocol from the nineteenth century, “women and children first.”." Both reflect the Victorian ideal of chivalry in which the upper classes were expected to emulate a morality tied to sacred honour, service, and respect for the disadvantaged. The actions of the captain and men during the sinking of HMS Birkenhead in 1852 prompted praise from many due to the sacrifice of the men who saved the women and children by evacuating them first. Rudyard Kipling’s  poem "Soldier an' Sailor Too" and Samual Smiles’ Self-Help both highlighted the valour of the men who stood at attention and played in the band as their ship was sinking.

Social and legal responsibility

The idiom literally means that a captain will be the last person to leave a ship alive prior to its sinking or utter destruction, and if unable to evacuate the crew and passengers, the captain will not save himself even if he can. In a social context, especially as a mariner, the captain will feel compelled to take this responsibility as a type of social norm. Shirking this responsibility in a crisis would go against societal mores because of the offender's lack of ethics.

In maritime law the responsibility of the ship's master for his ship is paramount no matter what its condition, so abandoning a ship has legal consequences, including the nature of salvage rights. So even if a captain abandons his ship in distress, he is generally responsible for it in his absence and would be compelled to return to the ship until danger to the vessel has relented. If a naval captain evacuates a vessel in wartime, it may be considered a capital offence similar to desertion unless he subsequently returns to the ship at his first opportunity to prevent its capture and rescue the crew.

Abandoning a ship in distress may be considered a crime that can lead to imprisonment.  Captain Francesco Schettino, who left his ship in the midst of the Costa Concordia disaster, was not only widely reviled for his actions, but was arrested by Italian authorities on criminal charges. Abandoning ship is a maritime crime that has been on the books for centuries in Spain, Greece and Italy. South Korean law may also require the captain to rescue himself last. In Finland the Maritime Law (Merilaki) states that the captain must do everything in his power to save everyone on board the ship in distress and that unless his life is in immediate danger, he shall not leave the vessel as long as there is reasonable hope that it can be saved. In the United States, abandoning the ship is not explicitly illegal, but the captain could be charged with other crimes, such as manslaughter, which encompass common law precedent passed down through centuries. It is not illegal under international maritime law.

Listen up:

Jeremy Grimshaw, Payson ·

--Don't say you're pro-life and then cheer the defunding of CHIPS.

--Don't say you support Biblical values and then turn away refugees whose homes have been destroyed.

--Don't say you support religious freedom and then advocate for a religious litmus test for refugees.

--Don't say pornography is a public health crisis and then elect a president who has appeared in and promoted pornographic films.

--Don't criticize women for the crude words on the signs they carry at a protest if you elected the president who said those words in the first place.

--Don't say you defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights if you support the current administration's attempts to muzzle the press.

    It doesn't bother me when people disagree with me on political matters. It does bother me when they disagree with themselves on moral matters, for political reasons.