[Top Gun] Pulling Rooster's Papers - Can Parents Interfere In Their Child's Career? (With Rabbi Yoni Sonnenblick)

In this episode, join Rabbi Yoni Sonnenblick in exploring the Jewish perspective on parent-child dynamics. The Torah commands children to respect their parents - it's one of the Ten Commandments! But how far does this authority go? Does it have any limits - if so, what are they, and when do they apply?

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) follows Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a top fighter pilot, who returns to the elite Top Gun flight school as an instructor. Tasked with training a new generation of pilots for a dangerous mission, Maverick confronts his past as he mentors Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, the son of his late friend, Goose.

As Maverick pushes the pilots to their limits, tensions rise, especially with Rooster, who (i) holds Maverick responsible for his father's  (Goose) death and (ii) is furious with Maverick for pulling Rooster’s naval papers, which cost Rooster four years of his career. Maverick must navigate these personal conflicts while preparing the team for a nearly impossible mission, ultimately leading them in a high-stakes operation that tests their skills and courage.

We later find out that Maverick promised Rooster's dying mother - at her request - that Rooster would not become a pilot like his father. Rooster is not aware of his mother’s request, and Maverick takes the full blame from Rooster so that Rooster wouldn't also blame his mother.

 

With that, we have a few questions we’d like answered:

1. Does a parent have the right to interfere, or request such interference, in her son’s career generally? Does it make a difference if the parent interferes directly, as opposed to requesting a third party to interfere?
   1. If not, what if it the child’s decision involves mortal risk? Does that change the calculus?
      1. If not, does it make a difference if the career is the same one that got the child’s father killed?
2. Does it make a difference if the parent, or the third party, suspects the child won’t let up, and this will just cause the child to take a longer road?
3. May a senior soldier/officer intervene by pulling a junior soldier’s papers, even though he (presumably) did not have the junior soldier under his command?
4. Finally, can the senior soldier/officer interfere, and then keep the mother’s request quiet to preserve the peace between her and her son? Is it morally praiseworthy for Maverick to take the blame so Rooster doesn’t blame his mom?

 

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