Adama, Tigh, Lee, and Starbuck musings
Jul. 12th, 2005 06:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieI was wondering earlier about how everyone in BSG is really out of their depths, which came out of discussion with husband where he referred to Mrs. Tigh as "Angel of Alcohol" (I love being married to a fellow Geek) and somehow it morphed into an Adama musing.
You know, he appears to be an excellent Commander, the crew loves him etc etc.
But he is completely out of his depth as a co-ruler (which is what he really is). Basically, he runs BSG as some sort of feudal system. People are personally loyal to him. The greatest wrong Roslin commits is taking Starbuck's loyalty away from him. The wrong Lee does is not behaving in an illegal fashion (because he does not. In fact he follows the law. Adama and not Lee is the mutineer) but in going against Adama and being disloyal (a pattern that runs throughout S1 where Adama percieves Lee as disloyal whenever he disagrees, whether his position is valid or not). The concept of personal loyalty, of running his "fief" in a way he likes is seen throughout (e.g. when he stops Tyrol court-martial. It's a good thing, but once again, he is putting his personal views above the law).
There is nothing wrong with his attitude if he wasn't who he was. A military commander should inspire loyalty and value it. A middle of a battle is not a time for a soldier (or even a CAG :D) to have a philosophical discussion. And if Adama had a Chief of Staff above him, with whom this chain of loyalty would be maintained, he would be perfectly fine. But he does not. He has no superiors. He has a co-governor, an equal, Laura Roslin, as they agreed to have her take care of civilian matters while he takes care of the military. And this is where the problem comes in. Because he has no one to rein him in, no one whose claim to do so he ackgnowledges, and he has not yet learned (as Carrot in Terry Pratchett Watch books put it) that "personal is not the same as important." Lee of course, has learned that, as he backs Roslin because she is the President who had a right to make her decision, even if that decision was to send his best friendand wannabe snuggle bunny on a suicide mission.
Of course, that is because Roslin has a tenuous grasp on authority. She is 40something in line. If the President of the Colonies was still alive, or even their Minister of War, Adama would trust their judgment a lot more and obey them. But of course, his reluctance to do so with Roslin is understandable: she is not elected (and won't be until the election campaign), and he is correct in being suspicious of her qualifications for the job.
However, running a whole fleet on personal feelings, when not everyone is in your chain of command is quite problematic. At the very least, it gives people a confused feeling of loyalty. When Lee mutinies against the mutiny, he is at least arguably right (I believe he is completely right, as otherwise Adama's action undermines the thin veneer of civilization and unlike Zarek, I believe it's only the pretense of normalcy that keeps everything running without riots, but that's a separate matterhow was that for a run on sentence?) as Roslin has an equal right to loyalty and obedience to Adama, if not even greater. But of course Adama, carried away by personal loyalty=abstract loyalty does not see that.
But from believing that not agreeing with one equals disloyalty equals abstract illegality is a dangerous slippery slope.
Of course, Adama is out of it, shot and recuperating, and poor Col. Tigh is left with the mess. And he inspires neither the insane personal loyalty Adama does, nor is he as able to cope. He is a good officer, but the reason he likes his bottle and his wife who provides him the bottle is because the stress does get to him, unlike Adama who appears to be able to shoulder anything. When Adama tells Lee that the responsibility for Olympic Carrier is his, you can tell that part of it is that he knows his shoulders are capable of bearing that burden and won't give him any worse nightmares (and I think in many ways Lee is a chip off the old block and will be somewhat like that in 20 or so years, only more diplomatically savvy if less adoration-from-crew-inspiring. And of course, his refusing to shift responsibility is proof of his capability and maturity). And Tigh is in a horrible situation.
His chain of command above is decimated: his CO is unconscious and in a coma like state, and the President is in the brig. The VP is missing on Kobol or dead. And his chain of command below is also gone. His CAG is in the brig for mutiny, and he can't restore him even if he wanted to, as mutiny has to be punished for discipline's sake (though if that promo with Apollo being dragged away, screaming "he is my father" and trying to stay with Adama is any indication, Tigh isn't feeling too kindly towards him, which is understandable as Lee pulled a gun on him). His best pilot is gone and also presumably dead. His Chief of the deck is also on Kobol or dead. Also, Tigh is not as beloved/legendary as Adama, nor is he as smart. Tigh is going to need that booze.
And that brings me to Starbuck. Of course, she is Adama's "favorite child." Partly because she is not his real child, like Lee or Zak (and the expectations for those are always lower). But also because her loyalties are always personal. She is no abstract thinker about political goals and ideals like Lee. Her mindset is in fact very similar to Adama's. Lee is a lot more like Roslin than Adama. Adama loves Lee, of course. But I don't think he really understands him. While with Starbuck, he does. He does because she is very much like him. He knows which way she'll jump. She has her faults and he knows them, but he can deal easier with them than with Lee's, because they are the faults he could have had himself.
And this very long ramble is pretty much done :)
You know, he appears to be an excellent Commander, the crew loves him etc etc.
But he is completely out of his depth as a co-ruler (which is what he really is). Basically, he runs BSG as some sort of feudal system. People are personally loyal to him. The greatest wrong Roslin commits is taking Starbuck's loyalty away from him. The wrong Lee does is not behaving in an illegal fashion (because he does not. In fact he follows the law. Adama and not Lee is the mutineer) but in going against Adama and being disloyal (a pattern that runs throughout S1 where Adama percieves Lee as disloyal whenever he disagrees, whether his position is valid or not). The concept of personal loyalty, of running his "fief" in a way he likes is seen throughout (e.g. when he stops Tyrol court-martial. It's a good thing, but once again, he is putting his personal views above the law).
There is nothing wrong with his attitude if he wasn't who he was. A military commander should inspire loyalty and value it. A middle of a battle is not a time for a soldier (or even a CAG :D) to have a philosophical discussion. And if Adama had a Chief of Staff above him, with whom this chain of loyalty would be maintained, he would be perfectly fine. But he does not. He has no superiors. He has a co-governor, an equal, Laura Roslin, as they agreed to have her take care of civilian matters while he takes care of the military. And this is where the problem comes in. Because he has no one to rein him in, no one whose claim to do so he ackgnowledges, and he has not yet learned (as Carrot in Terry Pratchett Watch books put it) that "personal is not the same as important." Lee of course, has learned that, as he backs Roslin because she is the President who had a right to make her decision, even if that decision was to send his best friend
Of course, that is because Roslin has a tenuous grasp on authority. She is 40something in line. If the President of the Colonies was still alive, or even their Minister of War, Adama would trust their judgment a lot more and obey them. But of course, his reluctance to do so with Roslin is understandable: she is not elected (and won't be until the election campaign), and he is correct in being suspicious of her qualifications for the job.
However, running a whole fleet on personal feelings, when not everyone is in your chain of command is quite problematic. At the very least, it gives people a confused feeling of loyalty. When Lee mutinies against the mutiny, he is at least arguably right (I believe he is completely right, as otherwise Adama's action undermines the thin veneer of civilization and unlike Zarek, I believe it's only the pretense of normalcy that keeps everything running without riots, but that's a separate matter
But from believing that not agreeing with one equals disloyalty equals abstract illegality is a dangerous slippery slope.
Of course, Adama is out of it, shot and recuperating, and poor Col. Tigh is left with the mess. And he inspires neither the insane personal loyalty Adama does, nor is he as able to cope. He is a good officer, but the reason he likes his bottle and his wife who provides him the bottle is because the stress does get to him, unlike Adama who appears to be able to shoulder anything. When Adama tells Lee that the responsibility for Olympic Carrier is his, you can tell that part of it is that he knows his shoulders are capable of bearing that burden and won't give him any worse nightmares (and I think in many ways Lee is a chip off the old block and will be somewhat like that in 20 or so years, only more diplomatically savvy if less adoration-from-crew-inspiring. And of course, his refusing to shift responsibility is proof of his capability and maturity). And Tigh is in a horrible situation.
His chain of command above is decimated: his CO is unconscious and in a coma like state, and the President is in the brig. The VP is missing on Kobol or dead. And his chain of command below is also gone. His CAG is in the brig for mutiny, and he can't restore him even if he wanted to, as mutiny has to be punished for discipline's sake (though if that promo with Apollo being dragged away, screaming "he is my father" and trying to stay with Adama is any indication, Tigh isn't feeling too kindly towards him, which is understandable as Lee pulled a gun on him). His best pilot is gone and also presumably dead. His Chief of the deck is also on Kobol or dead. Also, Tigh is not as beloved/legendary as Adama, nor is he as smart. Tigh is going to need that booze.
And that brings me to Starbuck. Of course, she is Adama's "favorite child." Partly because she is not his real child, like Lee or Zak (and the expectations for those are always lower). But also because her loyalties are always personal. She is no abstract thinker about political goals and ideals like Lee. Her mindset is in fact very similar to Adama's. Lee is a lot more like Roslin than Adama. Adama loves Lee, of course. But I don't think he really understands him. While with Starbuck, he does. He does because she is very much like him. He knows which way she'll jump. She has her faults and he knows them, but he can deal easier with them than with Lee's, because they are the faults he could have had himself.
And this very long ramble is pretty much done :)
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Re: non-frat policies have agood reason to be there
Date: 2005-07-13 07:00 pm (UTC)I'm currently reading a series of novels where the protagonist falls in love with the ENEMY! I'm sure there are regs against that kind of thing in her world, too, but if she had followed those regs (and she did do her duty to her people) rather than her heart, there wouldn't have been much of a story. Likewise, if they, on BSG, followed all the required military discipline, I'm pretty sure the show wouldn't interest me very much. I like STORY, and you don't get a lot of that from people always following the rules.
Tigh is By The Book and, interestingly, a lot more flawed IMO than any of the "rulebreakers." We're about to see how Galactica and the Fleet fares under HIS command. It should be interesting... and I'm glad it's temporary! LOL
Re: non-frat policies have agood reason to be there
Date: 2005-07-13 07:12 pm (UTC)Re: Roslin bringing Adama and Apollo to heel. She had every right to do so (in this way, her having no strong emotional attachments is a blessing). They should expend a lot of energy looking for Kara, not necessarily because she is family, but because she is a flight instructor and one of the best pilots they have, but they really did go way over the top. Understandably so, but still.
I do think the government functions both when Roslin and Adama work together and complement each other's strengths.
Re: non-frat policies have agood reason to be there
Date: 2005-07-13 07:19 pm (UTC)LOL We are in total agreement on that!
Re: non-frat policies have agood reason to be there
Date: 2005-07-13 07:22 pm (UTC)Adama makes a good military commander, but he lets emotions cloud his judgment (see looking for Kara) and he is not good at politics (why should he be, he is a military guy).
While Roslin is a savvy politician and has no emotional attachments but can get carried away by the religious hope and has no idea how to run the military.
I do feel sorry for Tigh. If he keeps Roslin in the brig, it's either Loony Baltar (if he manages to recover him at all) or megolomaniac Zarek he has to work with.