I turned 73 this week. I never thought I would reach it. However, by the grace of God, I’m still enjoying life. Birthdays for me are low key affairs. We get together with kids and grandkids for dinner, but with each passing year, I find time to think about my life, my family, and my world.
Life
Having been a soldier and legislator and now an author, it strikes me how much I owe to those who have impacted my life. Of course, my parents were primarily responsible for civilizing me. So too were the influences of others like my Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Yurachek. I have a long list of schoolteachers who were dutiful and patient with me. I required much of the latter. A few of them are prominent. Like Mrs. Loth, my third grade teacher who drilled multiplication tables into me like a demanding derrickman on an oil patch in west Texas. I was her “light and sweet crude” and she intended that I would be productive. In high school, Father Augustine Cunningham, my English teacher and drama coach, introduced me to the world of flowery content. In college, my American Colonial and Civil War History professor, Colonel John G. Barrett, brought our national story to life in ways I have rarely experienced since. Then there’s the list of soldiers and officers I served with who saw in me a potential I did not see in myself. And of course, there were legislators both older and younger who taught me much about lawmaking. In essence, my life is better for those who taught me. Why? Because life is about transcendent lessons: enduring values, knowledge, deportment, and wisdom. Thanks to many people, I am here today and possess abilities I could not have achieved on my own without their devotion to me.
Family
The family is the civilizing foundation of life. At the top is God. Then the union of man and woman in marriage, and then children they are blessed to bring into the world. A society without strong families is a society that will fail. We see this in America today. Unscientifically contrived alternatives won’t suffice. God created family for a reason. To focus on Him. When we do this, we should not be surprised when things in life turn out for the better. I am not speaking here of prosperity, but rather the fruit of the Holy Spirit that Jesus sent us including love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I can think of no better attributes to a good family and society.
We would do well to take note that such fruit far surpasses the hedonistic and corrupt harvest of lifestyles we see cultivated across our nation. And to be sure, just as the traditional family is under attack, so too is the Judeo-Christian ethic that undergirded our nation’s founding. That is under attack by the same people who are trying to diminish the value of family.
I am blessed to have a good family, kids, and grandkids, who have brought Shelley and me untold joy.
World
I am less sanguine about our world. In many ways it is more dangerous today than at any time I have witnessed, in both war and peace. And contrary to some popular notions among both major political parties in America, it’s not all our fault. The “blame America first” hucksters and the “chicken little” worrywarts fail to grasp the reality of the world we live in. While we are not the world’s constabulary, we are a major influence, and we have an important role to play in pressing it for peace, freedom, and respect for non-aggression. Yet we have made some serious mistakes in judgment pursuing this, not the least of which were needless wars.
But if we shy from our responsibilities to oppose the baneful likes of Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, to say nothing of vile groups like Hamas, ISIS, and Hezbollah, we should not be surprised when wars erupt in places that can indeed lead to world war. So, as the FRAM oil filter company aphorism goes, “you can pay me now, or pay me later.” After the world war erupts, those who think it’s not our war will soon find that it is. And the costs then will be far greater than they are today. Pay me later, indeed. The world is a tinderbox, and one careless match can set it ablaze. We have a role in restraining those who play with fire.
If you think about it, in many ways a society committed to teaching the right values, starting with the family as the foundational agent of civilization, and an America committed to world peace all work nicely together.
Those things are on my 73-year-old mind these days.
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