When I was a younger man I watched a movie called Captain Blood. It was a pretty good pirate flick starring Errol Flynn, among others, if my recollection is correct.

What I remember especially was a scene where one of the ship’s crew members approached the Admiral to register a complaint (gossip) about Captain Blood himself. (You don’t complain about the star of the movie by the way.) Rather than giving even one second of attention to the complaint, they called immediately for Captain Blood to be brought to the Admiral’s cabin to confront the charges face to face.

Wow!!! You mean the Bill of Rights was upheld and a man had the right to face his accuser? That is a novel idea in today’s society isn’t it?

How much less chaos, havok, and pettiness would there be today if that same article of the Bill of Rights was enforced today. Is there really any need to protect those who want to bring frivolous complaints under the guise of protecting ones personal privacy?

I don’t believe there is. I think there is far more harm done when people are allowed to make anonymous charges without the need to provide a burden of proof.

On the personal level, let you and me be the first to start reinforcing the principle emphasized in the movie Captain Blood. When someone wants to make a complaint before us, let it be done face to face. Those issues that are important will still be voiced and those that are just petty gossip will not.