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Wednesday, November 21, 2007
All of us, myself most definitely included, are all too inclined to view life with a negative perception. Things could always be better and we focus too much of our time and energy on that, rather than being grateful for the things we do have. Even the least fortunate of us have a lot more than so many people have. Most of us have food readily available and medical attention is there if we need it. Sure, we're in debt and there are omnipresent problems in everyone's lives. Instead of dwelling on them, I think it's important to remember how well we do have it. And Thanksgiving is a day that reminds us of it.
I have my share of things to moan about. But I look at the things I do have. Health and health for my family. I am employed and as grueling and soul-killing as it may seem sometime, I consider the alternative. And I don't consider getting any sort of free ride to be a viable alternative to earning my way in the world.
I'm also thankful for all my friends, both online and offline. I've made so many amazing acquaintances since I began this Internet madness and my life is infinitely richer for it.
By far the one thing I regret and am unhappy about is the fate of my brother. He died nearly three years ago and I wish so many things about that tragic situation. I wish, obviously, that he had never gotten cancer. I wish I had been a better brother. I wish that he had taken a lot more initiative in his own life. I wish he had had more to live for.
Just the night before last I dreamed of him and we were having a good time in it. I woke up and for a few seconds I thought he was still alive. I felt good about wanting to see him again soon, and then it hit me. So much for any further sleep that night.
Even the tragedies can help us better ourselves. Wise individuals know that everything that happens in this life is a something to learn from. We can't let it kill us, but we can and should learn and hopefully change ourselves for the better. I'm trying, but it's hard and a slow process.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am giving my thanks in my own way. No, I'm not attending the family dinner at my wife's parent's house. Many think me a cad for that, but I have my own sanity and stress level to deal with. Sometimes I think I'm going to implode from stress and the days I have to myself are extremely rare and they are critical to my own well-being.
For nearly a decade now I'm made a habit of reprinting my favorite essay at whatever message board I happened to be moderating at the time. The essay is called This I Believe and it was written by the incomparable Robert A. Heinlein.
This I Believe was a five-minute spot on CBS radio in the early 1950's. Various famous people contributed to it, but the only one I've actually read is Heinlein's. It's a beautiful piece with a lot of things in it to hold close to our hearts.
Most people enjoy me posting Heinlein's This I Believe. A few had some snarky things to say, and that's fine by me. It certainly didn't hurt my feelings. And yes, this piece singles out America and that's why I find it particularly appropriate for this holiday.
Without further ado...
This I Believe, by Robert A. Heinlein
I am not going to talk about religious beliefs, but about matters so obvious that it has gone out of style to mention them.
I believe in my neighbors.
I know their faults and I know that their virtues far outweigh their faults. Take Father Michael down our road a piece --I'm not of his creed, but I know the goodness and charity and lovingkindness that shine in his daily actions. I believe in Father Mike; if I'm in trouble, I'll go to him. My next-door neighbor is a veterinary doctor. Doc will get out of bed after a hard day to help a stray cat. No fee -- no prospect of a fee. I believe in Doc.
I believe in my townspeople. You can knock on any door in our town say, 'I'm hungry,' and you will be fed. Our town is no exception; I've found the same ready charity everywhere. For the one who says, 'To heck with you -- I got mine,' there are a hundred, a thousand, who will say, 'Sure, pal, sit down.'
I know that, despite all warnings against hitchhikers, I can step to the highway, thumb for a ride and in a few minutes a car or a truck will stop and someone will say, 'Climb in, Mac. How how far you going?'
I believe in my fellow citizens. Our headlines are splashed with crime, yet for every criminal there are 10,000 honest decent kindly men. If it were not so, no child would live to grow up, business could not go on from day to day. Decency is not news; it is buried in the obituaries --but it is a force stronger than crime.
I believe in the patient gallantry of nurses...in the tedious sacrifices of teachers. I believe in the unseen and unending fight against desperate odds that goes on quietly in almost every home in the land.
I believe in the honest craft of workmen. Take a look around you. There never were enough bosses to check up on all that work. From Independence Hall to the Grand Coulee Dam, these things were built level and square by craftsmen who were honest in their bones.
I believe that almost all politicians are honest. For every bribed alderman there are hundreds of politicians, low paid or not paid at all, doing their level best without thanks or glory to make our system work. If this were not true, we would never have gotten past the thirteen colonies."
I believe in Rodger Young. You and I are free today because of endless unnamed heroes from Valley Forge to the Yalu River.
I believe in -- I am proud to belong to -- the United States. Despite shortcomings, from lynchings to bad faith in high places, our nation has had the most decent and kindly internal practices and foreign policies to be found anywhere in history.
And finally, I believe in my whole race. Yellow, white, black, red, brown --in the honesty, courage, intelligence, durability....and goodness.....of the overwhelming majority of my brothers and sisters everywhere on this planet. I am proud to be a human being. I believe that we have come this far by the skin of our teeth, that we always make it just by the skin of our teeth --but that we will always make it....survive....endure. I believe that this hairless embryo with the aching, oversize brain case and the opposable thumb, this animal barely up from the apes, will endure --will endure longer than his home planet, will spread out to the other planets, to the stars, and beyond, carrying with him his honesty, his insatiable curiosity, his unlimited courage --and his noble essential decency.
This I believe with all my heart.
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