Would You Board That Plane?

[DISCLAIMER]

In 1996, I boarded a plane when heading for United States (U.S.) Marine Corps Recruit Training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California. Back then, friends, family members, and others could escort airline passengers to the gates from which planes departed.

As I’m featured wearing a red shirt in the photo above, the typical thoughts about dying in the event of a plane crash swirled through my mind when I prepared to board the plane. Obviously, as I’m posting this blog entry, I made it through the event without having passed away.

Still, suppose I hadn’t survived the flight. After all, one source reports that the annual risk of being killed in a plane crash for the average U.S. citizen is about one in 11 million. A separate source claims that it’s more like one in 29.4 million. Either way, it’s relatively rare.

Imagine that as I voluntarily boarded the plane, I was greeted by flight attendants. There was no indication of danger. I then sat down, fastened my seatbelt, doors of the plane were sealed, and the captain of the flight proceeded to speak to the flight crew and passengers on the plane.

“Good morning,” the captain states in this hypothetical scenario, “I envision that you think we’ll be heading to sunny San Diego today. However, I have other intentions of which you may want to know.” The captain then proceeds to admit that the plane will instead be intentionally crashed.

Whoops! Too late! I’m on the plane, and the captain’s cockpit is locked. There’s not much else I can do in this scenario, other than to die. Now, allow me to examine this scenario when viewed through the proverbial lens of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT).

REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate that when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, not the occurrence itself, that causes an unpleasant Consequence. This is known as distress or disturbance.

In particular, there are four predominate irrational beliefs which people often use to upset themselves: global evaluations, low frustration tolerance, awfulizing, and demandingness. When contemplating these unproductive beliefs, think of the acronym GLAD.

Additionally, from a psychological standpoint, people distress or disturb themselves using a Belief-Consequence (B-C) connection. Of course, this isn’t to suggest that in the context of the naturalistic or physical world there is no Action-Consequence (A-C) connection.

From an A-C perspective, a plane crash (Action) may result in death (Consequence). Depending on the data one favors, there are either one in 11 million or one in 29.4 million odds of dying on a commercial flight due to an accident or crash. Yet, terror during such an event is a B-C matter.

Hypothetically, I’m on a plane as it nosedives to the ground (Action) and Believe, “Life is meaningless, if I can’t survive this flight [G], and I can’t tolerate this experience [L]! It’s outright terrible [A], because I mustn’t die today [D],” as I become terrified (Consequence).

For clarity, I argue that it’s both rational and healthy to experience natural distress in the form of fear in the aforementioned situation. However, making an already unpleasant situation even worse is irrational and unhealthy when unnaturally disturbing oneself into sheer terror.

Addressing how people upset themselves with unhelpful attitudes, the ABC model incorporates Disputation of unproductive philosophies of life in order to explore Effective new beliefs. Whereas rigid beliefs cause self-disturbance, flexible beliefs result in an un-disturbed condition.

Now, suppose you were scheduled to board the same flight on which I’d already boarded. Yet, you were provided with prior knowledge about the captain’s intent. Specifically, you learned that the captain was on a suicide mission. Would you board that plane?

Given that I’ve worked in the field of mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”) for as long as I have, I’d be unsurprised for some people to admit that they’d readily board that plane! For the sake of argument, let’s say that you don’t have a death wish.

I picture that you wouldn’t merely refuse to board that plane, you may sound the alarm for everyone else. Besides, that’s the generally accepted moral and ethical course of action to take.

Now, let’s move this scenario a bit further by applying rational thinking (in accordance with both logic and reason) to the matter of the 2026 Iran conflict. For context, consider that one source reports:

US military commanders have been invoking extremist Christian rhetoric about biblical “end times” to justify involvement in the Iran war to troops, according to complaints made to a watchdog group.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) says it has received more than 200 complaints from service members across all branches of the armed forces, including the Marines, air force and space force.

One complainant, identified as a noncommissioned officer (NCO) in a unit that could be deployed “at any moment to join” operations against Iran, told MRFF in a complaint viewed by the Guardian that their commander had “urged us to tell our troops that this was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’ and he specifically referenced numerous citations out of the Book of Revelation referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ”.

A separate source confirms this report and adds, “Critics argue that the growing visibility of Christian nationalism within national security institutions raises questions about whether religious ideology is influencing military messaging or strategy.”

As a U.S. citizen who presumably pays the involuntary tax demanded by our government, do you consider it a matter of rationality to board the proverbial plane of armed conflict (i.e., war) against Iran? People are dying! I once volunteered to board a plane when heading to boot camp.

However, I’ve not volunteered for the axiomatic flight currently taken by the U.S. government in support of the Greater Israel project. Thus, this blogpost is me standing at the window, looking at boarding passengers, banging on the window, and sounding the alarm to turn back.

This is precisely how I approach the practice of REBT—using logic and reason to examine the utility of beliefs. Personally, it’s irrational for our nation to invoke Armageddon. The belief that we should, must, or ought to initiate the end of the world so that Jesus can return is asinine!

Besides, if one is to believe biblical narratives, Jesus was born—thus initiating His first visit to Earth. Following His death, Jesus was said to have been resurrected—thus initiating His second visit to Earth. Using basic math, Jesus has already experienced His second coming!

Ergo, I don’t want to board that plane to (potentially) global war so that Jesus can once again return to Earth. Perhaps I view it this way, because I’m agnostic (a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality, such as a supreme being, is unknown and probably unknowable).

Maybe you disagree. Would you board that plane to World War III? If so, I’d prefer not to fly with you. This is my rational perspective, and it’s how I address the problems with which clients present to mental health sessions. Thus, if you prefer rationality, perhaps REBT is for you.

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

References:

Braun, S. (2026, March 3). US troops were told war on Iran was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’, watchdog alleges. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/03/us-israel-iran-war-christian-rhetoric

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