There are times when the Muse takes over, the inspiration strikes or you have that Aha! or Eureka! moment. The following short essay came from one of those moments. I would also like to thank my eldest son for his input and helping me to focus. He was more help than he knows. When you are finished reading, please abide by the wishes in the note at the end.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: This is what it means to me.
R - Responsibility begins at birth. This may seem like a wild claim, but it is nonetheless true. Yes, the parents become responsible to the life of the newborn child. However, there is more. The moment you draw your first breath, you set forth on the road to being responsible for pulling your own weight at some future date, for becoming a contributing member of society and for making the world a better place than when you entered it. You become obligated to be sensitive to the needs of your neighbor and to help him by all reasonable means, in wisdom applied. You become responsible for being a good example to those around you and being an uplifting influence in their lives. Negativity and complaint never solved the problem--only faith and effort.
It is the recognition that with our blessings comes the responsibility, indeed the need, to lift the rest of the world by whatever means we can, helping others ultimately to become self-sustaining and free. We are all children of the same God and it is incumbent upon us, an obligation, to behave as such, if we are to prosper and have true joy.
E - Endurance is the engine by which all great things are accomplished. No journey begun, no task undertaken can be completed without the blessing of endurance to carry it to fruition. History is the result of endurance, whether it be of one person alone or of nations in congregation. We seldom, if ever, talk about those who quit before the task was done. We do not admire the slothful, the indolent. Biographies are never written about those who surrender to discouragement and depression. Heroes and heroines are generally recognized as those who followed through when the challenges and trials were the hardest.
We revere and admire those who fought and endured through freezing winters with little food and clothing and even less reason to hope they could ever build a new nation, but for their faith in God's help--a faith that was ultimately rewarded against all odds. We acknowledge and honor those who blazed the trails across a wild new nation simply because they had a conviction of manifest destiny that led them on. We give silent reverence to the outcast men and women of faith who set across unmeasured miles of inhospitable terrain, losing life and limb to the elements and cowardly demons in the flesh, because they trusted God to build his kingdom within their hearts and minds and communities in a new territory. These were no cowards, nor quitters. These were they who showed their convictions in their actions and endured against each wave of criticism and disbelief. These were the true pioneers of our nation. The enduring few who will never be forgotten.
S - Sacrifice may be the most precious and uncommon commodity in our world today. In a time of the ever resounding, ''what's in it for me?', it is rare indeed to hear of the unselfish soul who will, without reward or praise, step quietly forward to administer necessary aid in times of dire need. All the more sad that so few of these brave individuals yet survive. What substance men may accumulate in life cannot go with them to the next world. What they take will be the praise and honor of those they leave behind, should they be so fortunate as to have earned such respect. Their legacy will be what they did for others while they were in life and able to choose--no more and no less. It would do us well to remember that all that glitters is not celestial in nature. It is also wise to recall that great and marvelous things come about by small means and that first step. What will your legacy be?
P - Patriotism is not unfashionable or a thing of the past. It is just as valid today as when the founders took up arms to defend our then new nation. Patriotism is not barbeques and fireworks. Nor is it blind belief in the infallibility of our nation and leaders. It is acceptance of our frailties and faults, the desire to do better and make amends and it is the heartfelt gratitude that comes from being blessed by God to live in a nation that is still free to a great degree. It is the obligation to elect only good and righteous men and women to lead us. It is the unwavering duty to know and protect the rights of not only ourselves, but of the coming generations, many of whom may not be taught in our schools what their rights are or even that they have them.
Patriotism is the unexplainable, but overwhelming love that one has for the nation of his or her inheritance-- a love that defies words, but is so present as to be almost tangible. A love that brings tears to the eyes of those who feel it when they hear the national anthem or see their flag waving proudly in the breeze. It is the pride one feels when he hears some good news for a change. It is the feeling of satisfaction that comes from being of service and giving to those who have no way of giving back. Patriotism is a state of mind that only those who have it can ever understand.
E - Education is not only for those who plan to be doctors, lawyers and teachers or for those with aspirations to be great leaders in the world. It is also for the quiet, unassuming soul who desires to know more of his world and how to live harmoniously with others and in compliance with the blessings of God. It is for the man or woman that wishes to understand human nature and why it is that some folks get along quite well with one another while others cannot. It is the lifelong thirst for knowing who we are, why we are here and where we ultimately came from--and how we might return to God, who is our home. It is the means to preventing error and heartbreak, when properly applied. It can heal and protect, provide and instruct in turn.It is what separates us from the brute animal and lifts us in our journey to the worlds above.
C - Cooperation is pitching in and helping when asked to do so, but it is so much more. It is helping before being asked, helping when there is no hope for public recognition and helping because it is the right thing to do and feels good in the heart. It is the encouraging word spoken in good season, the critical comment withheld in a spirit of love and compassion and the silent arranging of circumstances into the proper order to aid another in his or her journey through life. Cooperation is an outward evidence of an inward conviction that the world can and ought to be a better, more peaceful place, accomplished one person at a time and close to home. Cooperation at its best is a grateful and cheerful heart, caught in the act of giving back.
T - Traditional values; that which made this country and this people what they are. Right and true principles, trusted and proven for generations. When we wander from that, we risk leaving behind the rich heritage that our founders fought for, in many cases sacrificing their lives and their fortunes. What would they think to know that we had squandered our inheritance in such a fashion? Upon leaving the Constitutional convention, when asked 'What have you wrought?', Benjamin Franklin responded, 'A Republic, if you can keep it.' Those final words ring deep for me--'if you can keep it'. The question is, will we? Will you? How precious is your freedom to you? Thomas Jefferson was reported as having said that 'a Democracy is the worst form of government' and the army training manuals of half a century ago taught that Democracy always ended in anarchy--always. Why? Because it is no more than legitimized mob rule. What the tyrant and dictator will not or cannot take for himself, he can easily get the jealous common man to vote for, so long as he devises a good game of divide and conquer.
In a Republic, law is law, even if 99% of the people wish it were not. So long as we make supreme efforts to elect only righteous, God-fearing men and women to office, this nation will survive. When our elected officials are corrupt, it is merely a reflection of the people as a whole. God cannot and will not protect us in our sins. We will be allowed to destroy ourselves from the inside, if that is what we choose. The enemy is always within. So long as we keep sin and error outside the gates, they cannot overcome. The moment we let them seep in to the least degree, the course is set. No wonder that God says, "I cannot tolerate sin in the least degree." He will not deprive of us our free agency. We must choose either good or evil. And there is no such thing as 'a little evil'.
V - Let me add another letter to the list. Although the letter 'V' is not used in the word 'respect', it is just as important. If we ever expect to be VICTORIOUS over our weaknesses, our trials and our enemies, we must be ever VIGILANT. 'The price of freedom is eternal VIGILANCE.' This is a cliche' because it is true. Freedom is won on a daily basis, not in one past, glorious battle. Don't be fooled--there are those in the world and in our own nation who would deprive you of your freedom. Will you let them? Edmund Burke wisely said that for evil to triumph, all that was required was for good men to do nothing. Are you doing nothing? Are you remaining silent to injustices around you? Do you rationalize that the decisions being made by others do not directly affect you? It is only a matter of time, my friend. If my freedom is lost, so is yours, just as surely.
Human nature is such that if we stop moving forward, we fall behind. Life teaches us nothing if not that. Perhaps it is time to make some resolutions. One need not wait for the first of January to change one's life. If the TV, discouragement and bad habits are holding you back, if your general attitude toward life needs a radical altering, now is the time. We never know when, for us, there may not be a tomorrow. Respect yourself and others, but most of all, respect God and be grateful.
[The letter V represents two people, working together and tied at the roots, but looking outward toward new horizons and better opportunities for both of them.]
NOTE:
Share this freely with whomever you wish. I only ask that you do not change it, as it was written under divine inspiration and should remain intact. You may add your own comments separately as you pass it on and I encourage you to do so, if moved upon by the Spirit. Thank you.
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