This is the power and downfall of the system. Agendas. Even admirable agendas become more important than truth and safety, and the humility to admit we were wrong.
Deception and self-deception from those with something to lose by “change” is crazy powerful.
Just be aware: this “willful coverup for an admirable reason” is built in to any system, whether government, corporations, sports organizations, institutional religion, the medical industry, education—any system involving power, title, money, pride. Which includes about any system you could ever imagine.
Watch for it. Assume you need to dig deeper then what you will willingly be told or the media will make you aware of. The media is a system also.
I mentioned this exact “O-Ring” event described below… in SystemOrEcosystem.com.
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Kenneth Howard
He knew it was going to happen. And nobody listened. For years, Roger Boisjoly studied one small, ignored part of the Space Shuttle. Rubber O-rings. They sealed the joints of the solid rocket boosters. If they failed, hot gas could escape. If gas escaped, the shuttle would be destroyed. Through testing and flight data, Boisjoly discovered the truth. In cold temperatures, the O-rings became stiff. Brittle. Dangerous. They lost flexibility. They could not seal properly. Which meant one thing. Cold launches were deadly. Months before Challenger’s flight, he warned his managers. Again. And again. And again. “Do not launch in cold weather.” He wrote memos. He showed charts. He presented evidence. On the night before liftoff, January 27, 1986, temperatures were forecast below freezing. Boisjoly begged. He argued for hours. He told them it was unsafe. He put it in writing. Management overruled him. Schedules mattered more than safety. Politics mattered more than engineers. On January 28, 1986, he watched the launch from home. Sick to his stomach. Terrified. He told his wife, “It’s going to blow up.” 73 seconds later, it did. The Challenger disintegrated in the sky. Seven astronauts were k*lled instantly. Teachers. Pilots. Scientists. Gone. Because warnings were ignored. Because experts were silenced. Because leaders chose speed over truth. Boisjoly was crushed. He testified before Congress. He exposed the lies. He showed how pressure destroyed judgment. He was proven right. But it cost him everything. He never returned to aerospace. He carried the weight for the rest of his life. Knowing he had tried. Knowing it was preventable. Knowing seven people did not have to d*e. After the disaster, NASA redesigned the boosters. They fixed the flaw. Too late. Today, his case is taught worldwide in engineering ethics. As a warning. As a lesson. As proof that real courage is not loud. Sometimes, it is standing alone in a meeting. Telling the truth. And being ignored. Roger Boisjoly did his duty. The system failed him. And seven people paid the price. Story based on historical records. This post is for educational purposes.
