Dean Poling
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA —
Mr. Wright was never wrong. At least that’s what he told himself and anyone else who would listen.
No matter the situation, Mr. Wright was right.
Disagree with Mr. Wright and he’d point out all of the ways the other person was wrong and the many ways in which he was right.
He did this in no uncertain terms. Mr. Wright could be right righteous in his rightness. Mr. Wright could be a little belligerent, too.
In truth, quite often Mr. Wright was indeed right. But there were times when Mr. Wright was absolutely wrong. Dead wrong. No ifs, ands, or buts. Still, he wouldn’t admit it, couldn’t admit it. Mr. Wright was never wrong.
He believed everyone else believed him as infallible as he believed himself to be. He believed everyone believed he was never wrong because he told them he was never wrong and if a man who is never wrong says he is never wrong, well, then surely, he must be right about that, too.
Yet, his colleagues, friends and family had caught him wrong in past situations. They knew Mr. Wright was wrong as well as they knew the sky was blue. Yet, he had never admitted he was wrong even on the rare occasion when he was legitimately wrong.
So certain were they on these occasions that Mr. Wright was wrong that they began quietly questioning even the times when he was right.
Well, they pondered, if Mr. Wright was wrong about what I know was right in that one particular situation why should he be right on this matter?
Even with all of the growing doubts surrounding the rightness of Mr. Wright, no one ever challenged him on being wrong. It was just too much work. No one wanted to take all of the guff that came with calling Mr. Wright on being wrong.
Besides, why bother? Everybody else believed Mr. Wright was wrong most of the time anyway. All it took was a cutting of the eyes from one worker to the next for everyone to silently realize they believed Mr. Wright was wrong once again ... even if he may really be right.
Only one person came to see Mr. Wright as never wrong. And that was Mr. Wright. Had he just admitted being wrong on occasion, he may have been viewed by others as he viewed himself: The right man for the job.
Instead, most folks viewed him simply as a man who didn’t know right from wrong.
Dean Poling is The Valdosta Daily Times assistant managing editor.
