|
Tuesday, July 04, 2006A Day for Receiving GraciouslyWhen given a gift, we must respond with graciousness, lest we deny others the joy of giving. How often do we hear people respond to some kind gift or sentiment with that awful phrase, "You shouldn't have"? It's meant as an expression of humility, I suppose, but whatever one's reason for questioning the giving of a gift, it is wrong. It teaches us, even those who are old enough to know better, that the act of giving is a thing to which judgment is attached. That the cycle of sharing which bonds us together in kindness is somehow false. If ever there were a virtue to be honored, even in hypocrisy, it is showing proper respect for generosity. When we reject a gift, deny the good intentions behind it or tell ourselves other stories to justify the attachment of resentment to ostensible acts of kindness, we do ourselves and others a great injustice. Today, sadly, is an especially important day to be on guard against this. When we think of gifts and giving, we think of the underwear and socks grandma gave us. The sweater from Auntie that never fit. In the last few years, some 2500 American soldiers have given their lives to preserve our safety and advance our freedom. In the last few years, families have watched loved ones go overseas, not knowing if it will be their last goodbye. In the last few years, soldiers, diplomats and other government and NGO personnel have packed up and gone around the world to help others as best they can in the best way they can. We owe them our thanks. There is a tendancy in our country - in our history classes, in our college seminars, in our magazines - to run America down. Conservatives scorn this land as lacking values. Liberals scorn it as lacking generosity. Everybody tells us about slavery, about women lacking the vote, about the problems the leaders of the Civil Rights movement faced. About the struggles minorities or immigrants face today. And yet... 230 years ago, some brave men - they were all men - signed a pledge to stand for the idea that every individual man had rights, had value and was due a chance to make of his life what he might. They went so far as to say that the purpose of government was to make this ideal fact and that a government that failed to do so could be discarded. Through war and struggle, through boom and bust, through good times and bad this country has pushed forward from those ideals, building on them to create a society that over time is freer, more open, more just. Yes, there are times we slide back, as well as times we push forward. But the long-term trend is there. That's why immigrants come by the boatload and truckload. Why the celebrities who have vowed to move to France or Britain never do. Why the rest of us, too, do not strike out for fairer shores but use that control over our own destinies that our Founding Fathers gave us to make our own lives, communities and nation better. The gift we have been given by the Founding Fathers and the soldiers, workers and - God help us - politicians - who have helped this nation become what it is cannot and must not be undervalued or unappreciated. And so, as this day of celebration draws to a close, it seems appropriate to shy away from the chants of "Not in our name," the spitting upon soldiers, the bumper sticks (meant for both Clinton and Bush) declaring "He's not my president" and find within us a measure of gratitude for those who make it possible for us to take for granted the privileges that come with being an American. Many thanks. 
posted by gbarto at 8:01 PM |
Archives
|
Day By Day© by Chris Muir.Old TurkeyBlog here.
