TUSooner
1/20/2006, 09:15 AM
Read this if only because it's such an eloquent description of "duty"; but read it also because it shows what kind of people - myself excepted ;) - work for your federal courts. I could only think of the ladies in our own office who lost their homes and more, but, without stopping to feel sorry for themselves, moved a court to Houston, kept on working, and then moved it back, even while I was livin' large amongst old friends and family in OKC:
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
EN BANC COURT TRIBUTE TO STAFF
18 JANUARY 2006
By Rhesa Hawkins Barksdale
United States Circuit Judge
Thank you, Chief Judge Jones.
“Duty” is a majestic term; yet, it has a rather bland meaning, for example: “that which one ought to do”; “any assigned service of business”. Of course, the term means far more, especially in the light of the superb service rendered by, and the dedication of, our court’s staff in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last Fall.
We’ve heard of “doing our duty” all our lives. Ralph Waldo Emerson expressed it beautifully in Voluntaries in the 1860s:
So nigh is grandeur to our dust,
So near is God to man,
When Duty whispers low, Thou must,
The youth replies, I can.
This concept was expressed famously by Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson, at the epic Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 when, just before the battle, he signaled the British fleet, “England expects that every man will do his duty”; and when, just before dying as a result of wounds received that day, he exclaimed, “Thank God , I have done my duty”. The motto of the United States Military Academy, alma mater for one of our splendid unit heads, has “duty” as its first word: “Duty, Honor, Country”. Perhaps the best expression of “duty”, however, is by that famous author “Anonymous” in the 1800s: “I seen my duty and I done it”.
You — our court managers and staff – have added luster to this word, a word that implies so much. Some of you did so after harrowing experiences during the hurricane. With superb leadership and dedication, you moved our court to Houston, Texas, last September and were off and running; then you moved it back to New Orleans in December, hardly missing a beat during the entire process. In Houston and other locales, you worked in cramped quarters, many separated from your families; nevertheless, you worked steadily, even though so many of you had so many personal problems, some seeming insurmountable. What an inspiration it was for our judges to see you in action; to hear your stories, often told with tears in your eyes, but always — always — with determination in your hearts.
Our court, the litigants, and the American public are the beneficiaries of your marvelous effort and work. “You seen your duty and you done it!”
For that, you have our eternal gratitude.
Thank you.
(Followed immediately by a standing and sustained ovation by the 16 judges for the en banc court, as well as by others in the courtroom.)
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
EN BANC COURT TRIBUTE TO STAFF
18 JANUARY 2006
By Rhesa Hawkins Barksdale
United States Circuit Judge
Thank you, Chief Judge Jones.
“Duty” is a majestic term; yet, it has a rather bland meaning, for example: “that which one ought to do”; “any assigned service of business”. Of course, the term means far more, especially in the light of the superb service rendered by, and the dedication of, our court’s staff in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last Fall.
We’ve heard of “doing our duty” all our lives. Ralph Waldo Emerson expressed it beautifully in Voluntaries in the 1860s:
So nigh is grandeur to our dust,
So near is God to man,
When Duty whispers low, Thou must,
The youth replies, I can.
This concept was expressed famously by Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson, at the epic Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 when, just before the battle, he signaled the British fleet, “England expects that every man will do his duty”; and when, just before dying as a result of wounds received that day, he exclaimed, “Thank God , I have done my duty”. The motto of the United States Military Academy, alma mater for one of our splendid unit heads, has “duty” as its first word: “Duty, Honor, Country”. Perhaps the best expression of “duty”, however, is by that famous author “Anonymous” in the 1800s: “I seen my duty and I done it”.
You — our court managers and staff – have added luster to this word, a word that implies so much. Some of you did so after harrowing experiences during the hurricane. With superb leadership and dedication, you moved our court to Houston, Texas, last September and were off and running; then you moved it back to New Orleans in December, hardly missing a beat during the entire process. In Houston and other locales, you worked in cramped quarters, many separated from your families; nevertheless, you worked steadily, even though so many of you had so many personal problems, some seeming insurmountable. What an inspiration it was for our judges to see you in action; to hear your stories, often told with tears in your eyes, but always — always — with determination in your hearts.
Our court, the litigants, and the American public are the beneficiaries of your marvelous effort and work. “You seen your duty and you done it!”
For that, you have our eternal gratitude.
Thank you.
(Followed immediately by a standing and sustained ovation by the 16 judges for the en banc court, as well as by others in the courtroom.)