You’ve probably heard it posed to you this way: ‘On a scale of 1-5 how is your pain?’ Or, maybe this way: ‘How would you rate the new Corvette on a scale of 1-10?’ Today we often use the highest number as the most exquisite representation in our evaluations, but previously it was the lowest number that denoted the best (i.e., a grade 1 or grade A potato)
I have a favorite story that uses the earlier version of the Likert Scale I heard related by a man whom I admire named George Durrant. When George was a soldier in the Korean War the American troops were served their meals by South Korean waiters. At mealtime, because of his lowly military rank, Private Durrant had to take his place at the end of the food line and get his own food while those of higher rank were served by the Korean waiters. Because of the kindly way he greeted and treated the South Koreans with whom he came in daily contact it became known to the Koreans that Private Durrant was a Christian. Inasmuch as his behavior contrasted to the behaviors of a number of his military comrades, who also came from an ostensibly Christian nation, and therefore were assumed to be Christians, the waiters one day presented George with a wonderful plate of food and said to him, ‘You a number one Christian.’
People are always evaluating, judging, imputing or assigning a value to each other. As previously stated in an Omnium-Gatherum essay, ‘Where ere thou art, act well thy part.’
How do you measure up in all the important ways in your life? How do you want to be known? Are you a ‘number one’? “Let a man examine himself,” (1 Cor. 11:28), the Apostle Paul writes, for surely others are doing it for you.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Facing the Storm Head-On
Let me use a couple of seemingly unrelated clichés that you’ve probably heard to set up a lesson or incident I once heard that made an impact upon my life. This lesson was reinforced not long ago by a wonderful movie I saw about penguins.
The clichés: ‘Into every life some rain must fall or a storm must blow.’ ‘The best way to slay a dragon is to turn and face it and then rush right up to it and plunge a sword down its throat.’
The lesson learned in my youth: A rugged old cowboy who worked one of the cattle ranches of the Northern Rockies explained how the winter storms took some terrible tolls on the range cattle of the region. Freezing winter rains and howling winds and then blizzards would come blowing down from the Arctic and pile up huge snowdrifts. The temperature would sometimes plummet to many degrees below zero. The unfortunate cattle who found themselves caught out in these conditions would often turn their backs to the icy blasts and slowly drift as far as they could downwind, until they inevitably came to a fence that would bar their way. Then they would pile up against the fence and die by the hundreds. However, the cowboy observed that those cattle of the Hereford breed often reacted differently. They would head into the wind and slowly work their way forward against it until they came to the fence at the windward end of their range. There they would stand, shoulder to shoulder, facing the storm. The cowboy said, “We found that the cattle that faced the wind and stayed together usually stayed alive and well. Few of these cattle were ever found frozen in a drift.”
The lesson reinforced by the penguin movie: In the Antarctic the penguins would do essentially the same thing. They would gather in a tight group and face the wind and would periodically change positions so that the penguins who were on the inside, and thus protected and warmer, would take their turn with the outside barrier penguins who stayed for their stint against the elements.
Every experience in life carries its lesson. You may learn it yourself, sometimes the hard way, or you may learn it through the experiences and behaviors of others—people or animals. One way or the other, learn it.
The clichés: ‘Into every life some rain must fall or a storm must blow.’ ‘The best way to slay a dragon is to turn and face it and then rush right up to it and plunge a sword down its throat.’
The lesson learned in my youth: A rugged old cowboy who worked one of the cattle ranches of the Northern Rockies explained how the winter storms took some terrible tolls on the range cattle of the region. Freezing winter rains and howling winds and then blizzards would come blowing down from the Arctic and pile up huge snowdrifts. The temperature would sometimes plummet to many degrees below zero. The unfortunate cattle who found themselves caught out in these conditions would often turn their backs to the icy blasts and slowly drift as far as they could downwind, until they inevitably came to a fence that would bar their way. Then they would pile up against the fence and die by the hundreds. However, the cowboy observed that those cattle of the Hereford breed often reacted differently. They would head into the wind and slowly work their way forward against it until they came to the fence at the windward end of their range. There they would stand, shoulder to shoulder, facing the storm. The cowboy said, “We found that the cattle that faced the wind and stayed together usually stayed alive and well. Few of these cattle were ever found frozen in a drift.”
The lesson reinforced by the penguin movie: In the Antarctic the penguins would do essentially the same thing. They would gather in a tight group and face the wind and would periodically change positions so that the penguins who were on the inside, and thus protected and warmer, would take their turn with the outside barrier penguins who stayed for their stint against the elements.
Every experience in life carries its lesson. You may learn it yourself, sometimes the hard way, or you may learn it through the experiences and behaviors of others—people or animals. One way or the other, learn it.
Monday, November 22, 2010
National Greatness Agenda
A day or two ago I read in the New York Times a commentary by David Brooks with the above title. I was intrigued. The article was precipitated by current economic and political issues, but his larger concern was to avert our accelerating plunge as a nation into a ‘national disaster.’ A few of his phrases that stood out in bold relief for me were:
• While our political system is a mess, the economic and social values of the country remain sound.
• Over the past few years, we have seen millions of people mobilize…the country is restive and looking for alternatives.
• You can’t organize a movement like this around pain—around tax increases and spending cuts—but you can organize one around a broad revitalization agenda, and above all, love of country.
• It will take a revived patriotism to motivate Americans to do what needs to be done. This movement will ask Americans to live up to their best selves.
• It will have to restore the social norms that prevailed through much of American history: when narcissism and hyperpartisanship was mitigated by loyalties larger than tribe and self.
• Its goal will be un-apologetic: preserving American pre-eminence. It will preserve America’s standing in the world on the grounds that this supremacy is a gift to our children and a blessing for the earth.
So, if you buy into his solution, what can you and I do about this?
A few things that immediately came to my mind were these:
* As I counseled my children when they were growing up: ‘Don’t be part of the problem; be part of the solution.’ Clean up your own personal ‘act.’ Obey the laws of the land. Educate your conscience and live a moral life. Every American could do this.
* If you are unemployed by misfortune or even by choice (e.g., independently ‘well set’ financially) or by circumstance (e.g. retirement, etc.), or even if you have some ‘spare’ time then volunteer your time and talents to making a better America. Service can be a wonderful boost to the server as well as those served. In Googling-up the words ‘volunteer opportunities’ on my computer I learned of some wonderful-sounding organizations, with titles such as: ‘Create the Good’; ‘Participate’; ‘Service Nation’; ‘Mission Serve’; ‘Repair the World’. And there are many others.
* Get God back on our side (or get on God’s side). Join and participate in a Church that believes in a restoration of the values that made America great. An ancient scriptural citation regarding what is now known as America reads: “Whatsoever nation shall possess this land…which is choice above all other lands… shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fullness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fullness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.” If we are ‘into’ pornography or drugs or revel in violence or entertainment violence we are into iniquity.
* Remember: We can’t be great unless we are good.
• While our political system is a mess, the economic and social values of the country remain sound.
• Over the past few years, we have seen millions of people mobilize…the country is restive and looking for alternatives.
• You can’t organize a movement like this around pain—around tax increases and spending cuts—but you can organize one around a broad revitalization agenda, and above all, love of country.
• It will take a revived patriotism to motivate Americans to do what needs to be done. This movement will ask Americans to live up to their best selves.
• It will have to restore the social norms that prevailed through much of American history: when narcissism and hyperpartisanship was mitigated by loyalties larger than tribe and self.
• Its goal will be un-apologetic: preserving American pre-eminence. It will preserve America’s standing in the world on the grounds that this supremacy is a gift to our children and a blessing for the earth.
So, if you buy into his solution, what can you and I do about this?
A few things that immediately came to my mind were these:
* As I counseled my children when they were growing up: ‘Don’t be part of the problem; be part of the solution.’ Clean up your own personal ‘act.’ Obey the laws of the land. Educate your conscience and live a moral life. Every American could do this.
* If you are unemployed by misfortune or even by choice (e.g., independently ‘well set’ financially) or by circumstance (e.g. retirement, etc.), or even if you have some ‘spare’ time then volunteer your time and talents to making a better America. Service can be a wonderful boost to the server as well as those served. In Googling-up the words ‘volunteer opportunities’ on my computer I learned of some wonderful-sounding organizations, with titles such as: ‘Create the Good’; ‘Participate’; ‘Service Nation’; ‘Mission Serve’; ‘Repair the World’. And there are many others.
* Get God back on our side (or get on God’s side). Join and participate in a Church that believes in a restoration of the values that made America great. An ancient scriptural citation regarding what is now known as America reads: “Whatsoever nation shall possess this land…which is choice above all other lands… shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fullness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fullness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.” If we are ‘into’ pornography or drugs or revel in violence or entertainment violence we are into iniquity.
* Remember: We can’t be great unless we are good.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Who/What is Right?
I listen often to National Public Radio (NPR). I did a couple of days ago and heard a discussion on the prospects of the United States getting our troops out of Afghanistan. As always, the viewpoints expressed by different panelists of ‘experts’ came to widely different conclusions based on varying perspectives, biases, command of factual information and other considerations. We see this every day with interactions between Democrats and Republicans in our Congress—good people, generally, but who see things quite differently.
How do we, or they, come to any ‘certain conclusion’ as to who or what is right and who or what is wrong?
Well, one way we can reach a decision is to listen to the ‘pitch men’ and decide which side makes a more persuasive argument. Another way is to try to ‘study it out in our own mind,’ with our own limited information or myopic viewpoint and then try to decide. Or we could flip a coin, or just let things ride and see ‘what shakes out,’ or…or….
Maybe none of those approaches is the best way to arrive at truth.
But what if we had a source we could turn to with confidence as a guide to right action? What if we knew the Immutable Principles, adherence to which would preserve our planet, our families, our freedoms, our security, our chance for happiness, our peace? What if there were a true prophet on earth who spoke with divine authority on issues concerning us or if we could access a divine source of guidance ourselves?
What, then, if everybody availed himself or herself of that input? Would we not consult that source with regularity? But then, if we got an answer would we heed it? Ah, there’s the rub.
I, for one, as a Christian believe there is such a source and that I, and you, can access it. Answers are out there. If we qualify ourselves for a revelation of truth we can receive it. And then we will know what is right and we won’t go wrong. I bet my life on it.
How do we, or they, come to any ‘certain conclusion’ as to who or what is right and who or what is wrong?
Well, one way we can reach a decision is to listen to the ‘pitch men’ and decide which side makes a more persuasive argument. Another way is to try to ‘study it out in our own mind,’ with our own limited information or myopic viewpoint and then try to decide. Or we could flip a coin, or just let things ride and see ‘what shakes out,’ or…or….
Maybe none of those approaches is the best way to arrive at truth.
But what if we had a source we could turn to with confidence as a guide to right action? What if we knew the Immutable Principles, adherence to which would preserve our planet, our families, our freedoms, our security, our chance for happiness, our peace? What if there were a true prophet on earth who spoke with divine authority on issues concerning us or if we could access a divine source of guidance ourselves?
What, then, if everybody availed himself or herself of that input? Would we not consult that source with regularity? But then, if we got an answer would we heed it? Ah, there’s the rub.
I, for one, as a Christian believe there is such a source and that I, and you, can access it. Answers are out there. If we qualify ourselves for a revelation of truth we can receive it. And then we will know what is right and we won’t go wrong. I bet my life on it.
Monday, November 15, 2010
November 22, 1963
Nearly every American and Englishman over the age of 50 remembers the 22nd of November 1963. It was the day C. S. Lewis died. John F. Kennedy also died that day.
For every Christian who is weak in the faith and for every non-Christian who wonders what Christianity really is all about, I highly recommend the insights of this great Christian apologist. A good starting place, and a book that should be on every Christian’s bookshelf is Lewis’ Mere Christianity. This slender volume can easily be read in just a few hours. I’m sure the book will be often reread, though, as the reader delights in the unforgettable metaphors and analogies that suddenly make Christian principles seem so clear and luminous. Not all of his illustrations or conclusions line up with revealed religion, but the volume is an excellent starting point. All truth is not arrived at all at once, neither by Lewis nor by any of us; but Mr. Lewis is clearly pointed in the right direction and points us there.
The reading of Mere Christianity may lead the still un-converted to his Surprised By Joy, which chronicles the journey Lewis took as an atheist who came suddenly into the light. Most literate people have heard of his Screwtape Letters (which he says was his least favorite book to write) and generations of youngsters are familiar with his fantasy, The Chronicles of Narnia. I finally got into Lewis’ writings (the aforementioned and others) in the mid-‘70’s when I was reading J. R. R. Tolkein’s Fellowship of the Ring to my children. Lewis and Tolkein were academic colleagues and friends at Oxford and Cambridge.
So, for me, the anniversary of November 22, 1963 is a day that annually brings me back to the reading of one of his books or anthologies of his writings, and the heady days of my own solid conversion to Christianity. Thanks, Jack (as Lewis’ friends call him).
For every Christian who is weak in the faith and for every non-Christian who wonders what Christianity really is all about, I highly recommend the insights of this great Christian apologist. A good starting place, and a book that should be on every Christian’s bookshelf is Lewis’ Mere Christianity. This slender volume can easily be read in just a few hours. I’m sure the book will be often reread, though, as the reader delights in the unforgettable metaphors and analogies that suddenly make Christian principles seem so clear and luminous. Not all of his illustrations or conclusions line up with revealed religion, but the volume is an excellent starting point. All truth is not arrived at all at once, neither by Lewis nor by any of us; but Mr. Lewis is clearly pointed in the right direction and points us there.
The reading of Mere Christianity may lead the still un-converted to his Surprised By Joy, which chronicles the journey Lewis took as an atheist who came suddenly into the light. Most literate people have heard of his Screwtape Letters (which he says was his least favorite book to write) and generations of youngsters are familiar with his fantasy, The Chronicles of Narnia. I finally got into Lewis’ writings (the aforementioned and others) in the mid-‘70’s when I was reading J. R. R. Tolkein’s Fellowship of the Ring to my children. Lewis and Tolkein were academic colleagues and friends at Oxford and Cambridge.
So, for me, the anniversary of November 22, 1963 is a day that annually brings me back to the reading of one of his books or anthologies of his writings, and the heady days of my own solid conversion to Christianity. Thanks, Jack (as Lewis’ friends call him).
Friday, November 12, 2010
Requiem for a Crow
Just as we can learn something from just about every life experience, I was reminded of an important lesson today from something I observed on the golf course.
A crow was apparently hit by a golf ball and killed by a player in a group playing behind mine. It couldn’t have been more than a minute or so before it was surrounded by a dozen or so other crows who walked around it ‘talking’ to their fallen comrade. Within another minute the word got out via the crow-grapevine and dozens more arrived to pay their condolences. Then there were hundreds of crows arriving and lending their voices in apparent lamentation. Suddenly they all took perch in nearby trees, facing the direction of the fallen one and became silent for a minute or two and then they departed in silence. For the next 8-10 minutes crows kept arriving from apparently far distant points; we could see them at least a half-mile off coming from all directions.
So, what did I learn or of what was I reminded?
I was reminded once again that all life has value and is noted and valued by many more friends or acquaintances than the departed one probably has any idea. When those (people and pets) I have known and loved have died, the song from our Church Hymnbook “Each Life That Touches Ours for Good” plays in my mind for days afterward: “When such a friend from us departs, We hold forever in our hearts a sweet and hallowed memory, Bringing us nearer, Lord, to thee.”
To keep the life and contributions and qualities of the person alive in our minds and hearts I would suggest not only collecting what photographs we may have of them, but writing about them as soon as possible after their departure and sharing your recollections. Talking about them with others who knew and loved them, you will find, will always be greatly appreciated by those who have a hole in their hearts left by the memory of the departed. A funeral or ‘moment of silence’ is not enough.
I have read and know by personal experience that it is so even with animals—certainly with my own pet dogs and neighbor dogs who have known each other.
Honor and respect the living and the dead.
A crow was apparently hit by a golf ball and killed by a player in a group playing behind mine. It couldn’t have been more than a minute or so before it was surrounded by a dozen or so other crows who walked around it ‘talking’ to their fallen comrade. Within another minute the word got out via the crow-grapevine and dozens more arrived to pay their condolences. Then there were hundreds of crows arriving and lending their voices in apparent lamentation. Suddenly they all took perch in nearby trees, facing the direction of the fallen one and became silent for a minute or two and then they departed in silence. For the next 8-10 minutes crows kept arriving from apparently far distant points; we could see them at least a half-mile off coming from all directions.
So, what did I learn or of what was I reminded?
I was reminded once again that all life has value and is noted and valued by many more friends or acquaintances than the departed one probably has any idea. When those (people and pets) I have known and loved have died, the song from our Church Hymnbook “Each Life That Touches Ours for Good” plays in my mind for days afterward: “When such a friend from us departs, We hold forever in our hearts a sweet and hallowed memory, Bringing us nearer, Lord, to thee.”
To keep the life and contributions and qualities of the person alive in our minds and hearts I would suggest not only collecting what photographs we may have of them, but writing about them as soon as possible after their departure and sharing your recollections. Talking about them with others who knew and loved them, you will find, will always be greatly appreciated by those who have a hole in their hearts left by the memory of the departed. A funeral or ‘moment of silence’ is not enough.
I have read and know by personal experience that it is so even with animals—certainly with my own pet dogs and neighbor dogs who have known each other.
Honor and respect the living and the dead.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Hell (part one)
When was the last time anyone came up to you and said, “Lets talk about hell?” Instead, if the subject was brought up at all, it was probably dismissed with a kind of nervous laugh or joke that relegated it to the same scrap pile of juvenile unsophistication as the related topic of “the devil.” Of course both subjects still have their adherents: to wit, the popularity of the movies “Ghosts,” and “Ghostbusters” and the 1960’s book and movie “Damn Yankees,” and Halloween will probably retain its annual popularity.
But seriously, what about hell? What about the devil?
I will only take up the subject of hell today, and have no intention of going into it very deeply; the devil will have to wait. But, of course, that is what he has always been doing—waiting for something he will never achieve—that is, heaven. And yes, I believe in both—but certainly not in the popular conceptions. Of course, one has to believe in life after death to believe in either. I, for one, believe. In fact, I know there is life after this life. And I know that my life does not need to experience a stay in hell--there are better things in store.
First, what hell is not. Hell is not a burning cauldron stirred by devils with horns and a barbed tail established for the sole purpose of tormenting the wicked. The devil would have you believe such an absurdity so as to have you dismiss it as an absurdity—and thus dismiss the reality of a place where one has a second chance, as it were, of reforming.
That is what I believe it is—a place of reforming, a reform school, if you will, of unlearning the bad or counter-productive that we didn't unlearn and set straight here in mortality. In short,it is a place and time of repenting and getting set on the right path. There may be (and should be) some painful self-recriminations, even buffetings, until one has been cleansed, and this is what I believe holy scripture means by ‘the pains of hell’ and other related figurative language.
I believe hell is a structure, a place, a correctional institution, a construct. And God, not the devil, has established it and is in charge of the curriculum. As soon as one of the patients has made the requisite changes he is discharged. As soon as hell has fulfilled its function for all of its institutional candidates in need of reform it will be dismantled.
Since long essays are usually unread essays I will leave it at that for today.
But seriously, what about hell? What about the devil?
I will only take up the subject of hell today, and have no intention of going into it very deeply; the devil will have to wait. But, of course, that is what he has always been doing—waiting for something he will never achieve—that is, heaven. And yes, I believe in both—but certainly not in the popular conceptions. Of course, one has to believe in life after death to believe in either. I, for one, believe. In fact, I know there is life after this life. And I know that my life does not need to experience a stay in hell--there are better things in store.
First, what hell is not. Hell is not a burning cauldron stirred by devils with horns and a barbed tail established for the sole purpose of tormenting the wicked. The devil would have you believe such an absurdity so as to have you dismiss it as an absurdity—and thus dismiss the reality of a place where one has a second chance, as it were, of reforming.
That is what I believe it is—a place of reforming, a reform school, if you will, of unlearning the bad or counter-productive that we didn't unlearn and set straight here in mortality. In short,it is a place and time of repenting and getting set on the right path. There may be (and should be) some painful self-recriminations, even buffetings, until one has been cleansed, and this is what I believe holy scripture means by ‘the pains of hell’ and other related figurative language.
I believe hell is a structure, a place, a correctional institution, a construct. And God, not the devil, has established it and is in charge of the curriculum. As soon as one of the patients has made the requisite changes he is discharged. As soon as hell has fulfilled its function for all of its institutional candidates in need of reform it will be dismantled.
Since long essays are usually unread essays I will leave it at that for today.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday! Although the chances are small that today actually is YOUR birthday, I can assure you that sometime within the next year you will hear that very thing said to you.
I think we will some day hear yet another phrase that may go something like, Happy Great Decision Day! Birthdays or Great Decision Days or the “day” you were Born Again will then conjure up memories of years gone by and the person you used to be as an infant or child or youth or before you made your Great Decision or Great Conversion. It may also remind you of an era gone by—the activities, the places, other people who were involved in your earlier, less developed life. And we will be grateful we moved beyond some of these things--that we've grown up.
It is part of my Faith that I believe that God can see backward as well as forward as well as now, and that we can become like God, if we do the right things. I believe that this kind of 'evolution' is a true principle.
That is to say, we can be blessed with capabilities far beyond that which we now possess. Then theoretically we can recapture those earlier days and review them much as we can now review a film or an audiotape. We will be able to “see” what were competing options or, perhaps, “oppositions” that may have kept us back for a time, or retarded our progress, or persuaded us to go one way or the other. We will be able then to see the temptations overcome, the growth accomplished, the help we were receiving, unaware probably, from angels or those on the “other side.” I think, in addition, we will be more aware of the help offered which we accepted or rejected from the living who deeply cared about us on this side and the pivotal decisions we made. The contrast may then astonish us as we see how far we have come. Yes, these are the kinds of things I think about when I think of birthdays.
And so we see that the gift of life can be and should be celebrated every day as you will on your birthday. God wants our lives to be good. Our parents wanted(s) it to be good for us; our friends should want it for us. For in the end, God greatly desires that we have, or eventually come to, a state of “joy.” That, too, is my wish for you. I hope your Birthday or day of Great Decision is one of celebration.
I think we will some day hear yet another phrase that may go something like, Happy Great Decision Day! Birthdays or Great Decision Days or the “day” you were Born Again will then conjure up memories of years gone by and the person you used to be as an infant or child or youth or before you made your Great Decision or Great Conversion. It may also remind you of an era gone by—the activities, the places, other people who were involved in your earlier, less developed life. And we will be grateful we moved beyond some of these things--that we've grown up.
It is part of my Faith that I believe that God can see backward as well as forward as well as now, and that we can become like God, if we do the right things. I believe that this kind of 'evolution' is a true principle.
That is to say, we can be blessed with capabilities far beyond that which we now possess. Then theoretically we can recapture those earlier days and review them much as we can now review a film or an audiotape. We will be able to “see” what were competing options or, perhaps, “oppositions” that may have kept us back for a time, or retarded our progress, or persuaded us to go one way or the other. We will be able then to see the temptations overcome, the growth accomplished, the help we were receiving, unaware probably, from angels or those on the “other side.” I think, in addition, we will be more aware of the help offered which we accepted or rejected from the living who deeply cared about us on this side and the pivotal decisions we made. The contrast may then astonish us as we see how far we have come. Yes, these are the kinds of things I think about when I think of birthdays.
And so we see that the gift of life can be and should be celebrated every day as you will on your birthday. God wants our lives to be good. Our parents wanted(s) it to be good for us; our friends should want it for us. For in the end, God greatly desires that we have, or eventually come to, a state of “joy.” That, too, is my wish for you. I hope your Birthday or day of Great Decision is one of celebration.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Alexis de Tocqueville and Democracy in America
When I was an undergraduate college student I took a class titled Social and Intellectual History of the United States. It was in this class I became acquainted with the Frenchman A. de Tocqueville and his famous travel and critique of our young nation. He came, ostensibly, for a tour of our country’s prison system, but really came as an observer and reporter of our National Character.
I have been interested in our National Character and in the development of personal character—in fact, my doctoral dissertation dealt with character education in the university I attended. I have wondered if others of my acquaintances have given much thought to who we as an American people are or of their own character development? Others, such as John Steinbeck (Travels With Charlie) and Alistair Cook and James Michener have undertaken such journeys and have published accounts on them, and I think we could all profitably engage ourselves with such contemplations and journeys where possible. My wife and I just returned from a trip to Europe and I will, in some later posting, report on some of my observations in this vein.
Here are just a few of de Tocqueville’s observations of 1831; I wonder how valid they are today:
• ‘The greatest blot on the [American national character] is the avidity to get rich and to do it by any means whatever.’
• ‘[Contrasted to the above] was the talk, always, of improvement and reform—what to do about slavery, about education, about God and the churches, about the rich, about women, about alcohol, about prisons.’
• ‘No novelty in the United States struck me more vividly during my stay here than the equality of conditions.’
• This is ‘a country where the military spirit is absolutely unknown.’
• ‘Every American feels a sort of personal interest in obeying the laws.’
• ‘The inhabitant of the United States learns from birth that he must rely on himself to combat the ills and trials of life; he is restless and defiant in his outlook toward the authority of society and appeals to its power only when he cannot do without it….’
• ‘Every American has the sense to sacrifice some of his private interests to save the rest.’
• ‘It is all-important for them to be educated…and I see a time approaching in which freedom, public peace, and social stability will not be able to last without education.’
• ‘As [inhabitants] mingle, Americans become assimilated; the differences which climate, origin, and institutions had created among them become less great. They all get closer to one type.’
• ‘The quarrels which are carried on in the newspapers or in society concern persons rather than things, and not a single person I met talked about leaving the United States. Indeed, it was the rare man or woman who even suggested that Americans might learn anything from the experience and ideas of other societies. They have an immensely high opinion of themselves and are not far from believing that they form a species apart from the rest of the human race.’
What would be his critique of America now? What would be our critique of ourselves? Do we ever subject ourselves of such an evaluation in our own personal lives? Maybe we should.
I have been interested in our National Character and in the development of personal character—in fact, my doctoral dissertation dealt with character education in the university I attended. I have wondered if others of my acquaintances have given much thought to who we as an American people are or of their own character development? Others, such as John Steinbeck (Travels With Charlie) and Alistair Cook and James Michener have undertaken such journeys and have published accounts on them, and I think we could all profitably engage ourselves with such contemplations and journeys where possible. My wife and I just returned from a trip to Europe and I will, in some later posting, report on some of my observations in this vein.
Here are just a few of de Tocqueville’s observations of 1831; I wonder how valid they are today:
• ‘The greatest blot on the [American national character] is the avidity to get rich and to do it by any means whatever.’
• ‘[Contrasted to the above] was the talk, always, of improvement and reform—what to do about slavery, about education, about God and the churches, about the rich, about women, about alcohol, about prisons.’
• ‘No novelty in the United States struck me more vividly during my stay here than the equality of conditions.’
• This is ‘a country where the military spirit is absolutely unknown.’
• ‘Every American feels a sort of personal interest in obeying the laws.’
• ‘The inhabitant of the United States learns from birth that he must rely on himself to combat the ills and trials of life; he is restless and defiant in his outlook toward the authority of society and appeals to its power only when he cannot do without it….’
• ‘Every American has the sense to sacrifice some of his private interests to save the rest.’
• ‘It is all-important for them to be educated…and I see a time approaching in which freedom, public peace, and social stability will not be able to last without education.’
• ‘As [inhabitants] mingle, Americans become assimilated; the differences which climate, origin, and institutions had created among them become less great. They all get closer to one type.’
• ‘The quarrels which are carried on in the newspapers or in society concern persons rather than things, and not a single person I met talked about leaving the United States. Indeed, it was the rare man or woman who even suggested that Americans might learn anything from the experience and ideas of other societies. They have an immensely high opinion of themselves and are not far from believing that they form a species apart from the rest of the human race.’
What would be his critique of America now? What would be our critique of ourselves? Do we ever subject ourselves of such an evaluation in our own personal lives? Maybe we should.
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