A Good Man
It's hard to find a good man these days. No, I'm not talking about good, as in good versus evil. I'm talking good, as in a man who has the courage to make the hard decisions that others would gladly flee from. I knew a man like this. Let me tell you about him.
When I first noticed him, he was young and clumsy, always losing things. His early years were of no significance as he learned his place among his peers. He lived and loved, married and raised a family. And when others at his age sought out glory and prestige, always coming and going, he kept his head down and worked. He played his part and followed the rules. He wasn't perfect, far from it. And sometimes his choices were wrong. But he always had the courage to choose.
And it was years later, after he'd chosen his path and moved on, that he chose me. I have to believe I was one of his good choices. We made quite a team, he and I. I was his right arm; his support system when the world and its furies railed at him. And on his worst day, when he had to stare down aliens and choose between the lesser of two evils, I was there by his side, never questioning his choice.
Sadly, he did keep some things from me. Would it have changed the past had he told me everything? Would I have disputed the choice he made? I doubt it. But knowing what I know now…maybe, just maybe? But he would never take others to the dark places that good men must go. Not him. I knew he had sent people to their deaths, but he did what had to be done. He did what others asked of him even though they themselves turned away from the responsibility, or the blame, depending on how history would come to judge. And it would judge him.
He wasn't a leader or even a soldier. He was just a man, a man who spent his life working to make things better, to make a difference. But he would stand to be judged by the worst day of his life. On a day when without hope, and without reward, he was asked to sacrifice everything. And once again he was left to choose, to choose between soul crushing horror or an unthinkable mercy. And he chose mercy.
So, If you ever assume to judge this good man on the quality of his mercy, don't. I want you to know he was a good man, and that whatever you might think of John Frobisher just remember this: It wasn't his fault.
Bridget Spears
Personal Assistant to Home Office Permanent Secretary, John Frobisher
Author's note: Thanks for reading, I hope you didn't mind the bait and switch but I wanted to illustrate the similarities between the Doctor and Frobisher (re:Torchwood, Children of Earth) . And that sometimes there are no good choices, only good men. Please feel free to share your opinion.