“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (Gospel of St. John, 15:12-13) I have been a mighty lucky man throughout my life, especially in one respect. I have been fortunate to have had family, friends and a Deity who have continued to love me in spite of faults and failures, wrong turns, ingratitude, thoughtlessness, and pride. There are times, when reading thru the paper or watching the news, that I almost despair of humanity. One sees wanton brutality and senseless violence on the worst part of the scale, lust and greed somewhere in the middle, and apathy, moral and physical cowardice on the other end. You see the acts of folks lost in an insane rage, gunning down small children in a school or folks watching a movie. You see parents murdering children and children murdering parents. You can kind of understand the motives of dictators and power grabbers here in this part of the world – while they are no less evil, they at least have a political or religious motivation for the crimes they commit. There are folks who hate, oppress and murder others because of color, creed, or politics, those who want to perpetuate their illegal livelihoods, and those who just like violence and chaos. From Afghan blood feuds to American and Mexican gang wars to European soccer hooligans – there is so much of it in the news a body starts to get desensitized to it. That is why I seldom watch the news. Then there are the greedy folks who can’t get enough of anything. What is “enough” money or property for one person? I knew a guy in Haywood County who aggressively outbid several folks to obtain an old store building for which he had no use, and to this day, has never used for anything. Someone asked him why he needed it, as several of the bidders wanted to reopen it as a store. He replied that he just wanted it – and it still sits empty and falling to ruin. What about those knuckleheads who knocked down a door at a Wal-Mart on “Black Thursday” a few years ago, and trampled a store clerk to death under it? Then you see things like these ship captains and crews who bailed out on their passengers in the wreck of the Costa Concordia back in 2012, and most recently, the Korean ferry tragedy. Then there are those who stand by and let it all happen. Those who either simply don’t care, or have no vested interest, or to whom any problem that doesn’t affect them directly is simply out of sight, out of mind. I believe I have mentioned before about the time I watched a mother rabbit trying frantically to rescue her baby from a cat by coming up close and pretending to be crippled, trying to tempt the cat away from the little bunny. So often, the acts of poor dumb beasts are more noble and righteous than the acts of human beings who are supposed to know right from wrong. I am generally an optimistic kind of guy, but the cumulative effect of these and other things sometimes wearies me and beats me down. Add crooked politicians, maniac drivers, rude people in the stores, Internet trolls, and radio/TV commentators who talk over the top of their guests onto the genuine tragedies, and it makes a man pretty tired. Part of me says “We’re all human” and “There but for the Grace of God, go I.” Another part of me wants to choke someone. And yet another part of me just wants to lay down and die. Then out of the blue, as it always happens (for me, anyways), the Lord tosses me a lifeline in the form of those who prove the negative feelings wrong and save me from despair. Brothers in arms like Chaplain (CPT) Emil Kapaun, who sacrificed his health and ultimately, his life for his fellow POW’s during the Korean War (CH Kapaun received the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism, and only this past year received the Medal of Honor – over 60 years after his actions). Or the youngest Medal of Honor recipient, Jack Lucas, who was only 16 when he covered two hand grenades with his own body to save his comrades (he lived, but spent his life with over 200 bits of shrapnel in his body). Normal folks, caught up in the rush of history, like Cornelia Ten Boom, who lost her entire family in a Nazi concentration camp and went on to become a missionary in Germany after the War. Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who sacrificed his career by defying his government and approving thousands of visas for Jews fleeing thru Lithuania from the Holocaust. Or the ships band of the RMS Titanic, playing hymns and songs to the very end, to calm the passengers as the great ship sank beneath the icy waves. Or what about the heroism of everyday folks in modern times? Remember Arland Williams, Jr.? The guy on the plane that crashed into the Potomac River back in 1982, who kept passing the lifeline to other passengers until he expired from hypothermia? Or how aboute Kamal Hamade, a Lebanese restaurant owner here in Kabul, who died trying to defend his customers against a suicide attack a few months ago. There was even a bright spot in the Korean Ferry debacle the other day - the young woman named Park Jee Young, who sacrificed herself by ensuring that the passengers had life jackets and assisted others to escape. Many times, though, love does not have to be manifested in heroism or grand gestures. Sometimes it is just a desperately needed kind word or gesture that might make someone else’s day or even save their future. Like my Papaw giving a downtrodden friend his spare coat on a frigid January day. Or the destitute person who found a pocket full of cash in a coat he got from the Salvation Army and turned it in. The grocery guy who makes sure all the stuff he doesn’t sell gets used by the rescue missions and emergency shelters. A character in a movie I saw awhile back made the point that Evil is not defeated by great power – it is held in check by the everyday acts of kindness and love performed by ordinary people. The Original Chuck Wagon Gang used to sing a song that said “Love is the Key, the Golden Key.” And I reckon it is true. You don’t have to look too hard to find it in just about every place, and all things considered, the old world is not near as awful as we sometimes let ourselves think. I hope that everyone has a wonderful Sunday, and that springtime is firmly entrenched in the Mountains. And in case I haven’t told you before, I love ye a sight!!
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 19:20:20 +0000
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