At the end of the Battle of Britain, British vice-marshal Alexander Adams was driving to a meeting at his headquarters when he came upon a sign: ROAD CLOSED—UNEXPLODED BOMB. Adams called over the policeman on duty, hoping he might be able to suggest an alternate route. “Sorry, you can’t go through,” said the policeman as he approached the car. “The bomb is likely to go off at any minute now.” Then he caught sight of Adams’s uniform. “I’m very sorry, sir,” he said, “I didn’t know you were a wing commander. It is quite all right for you to go through.”

With “advisors” like that, who needs enemies! Although that policeman—who was trained to respect rank—momentarily allowed his deference to a vice-marshal to overcome his good sense, Adams had better sense than to follow his advice.

Today in the Word, May 2, 1993