The Steadiness of Ronald Johnson

Rarely is it easy to be a voice of calm when everyone around you is yelling. Some are yelling at each other. Others are yelling just for the sake of it. And there are those who are yelling at you just because they can and you seem to be one who is trying to provide some type of order in the middle of all the chaos. It makes maintaining a calm demeanor all the more difficult. Yet this is what Captain Ronald Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol is attempting to do. In the aftermath of the fatal shooting of teenager Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, this small town has and continues to see more than its share of racial tension and violence.


Johnson, 51, has been serving as the official spokesman for the highway patrol. He is the person to whom anxious Ferguson citizens and members of the state and national media have been turning with an avalanche of comments and questions. Johnson's challenge has been to respond to their questions, listen to their comments, and represent the police and those in authority to assure the general public that they are continuing to work on behalf of local citizens and working hard to settle the situation in a manner that is just.


According to a recent article in the New York Times, Johnson's performance in for what for him is a new role has been quite commendable. He has "redefined leadership in crisis: equal parts police official, preacher, mediator and neighbor, unafraid to convey his inner conflict unafraid to cry,." the paper reported. Johnson is demonstrating that even in the worst of situations a competent and caring spokesman can make a positive difference. People, particularly when emotions are running high, look to something or someone steady on which to hold as they strive to gain a better understanding of matters and ultimately determine how best to address them. Johnson has emerged as the needed steady voice that is rising above the outcries.