Do What’s Right

To the Editor:

“Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide/In the strife of truth and falsehood, for the good or evil side/Some great cause, some great desires, off’ing each the bloom or blight,/and the choice goes by forever, twixt that darkness and that light.” So wrote James Russell Lowell in 1844.

Buddha said, “Few are there among men who go the farther shore; the rest of this mankind only run about on the bank.”

And Martin Luther King, Jr.: “A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.”

Happy birthday, America! 250 years of Good, Bad and Ugly. As we — the nation, the republic, the people of America — engage in celebrations with parties, parades and fireworks, let us pause to ponder the current landscape. During these 250 years, America has experienced a lot of minor and MAJOR events. Unless one has just landed on the planet, it is obvious we are at the juncture of experiencing a MAJOR MAJOR event once again.

Our Republic is being cracked and split by religion, politics, race/ethnicity, partisanship, income and, perhaps one of the strongest of all: “Every man doing that which is RIGHT in his own eyes,” as the Old Testament said. What is “right”? Right and convenient for me, pleasant for me, seems good for me, right for me.

We are all guilty of this behavior and most of the time perhaps not aware of its effect on others. Jesus instructed His followers to “treat your neighbors as you yourself would like to be treated.” Such a contrast!

Question: What part do I play? What action do I engage in? Perhaps just doing random acts of kindness, creating holy moments, slowing down doing whatever seems “right” in my own eyes might be more effective than I realize.

Happy birthday, America — land of the free because of the brave.

William Shreeve, Eureka