America: Be More Like My Mom
I took the above picture this morning. It’s the Fourth of July, which makes me think of this scene in The Great Escape:
That Scene In The Great Escape
It’s totally unrealistic, but so fun: in the movie, there are only three Americans among the P.O.W.s in the Nazi camp. They have been making moonshine in secret, in preparation for the Fourth of July. When the date finally arrives, they march around the camp playing “Yankee Doodle” on the fife and drum, sharing out the illicit liquor with their fellow prisoners.
“They’re celebrating the Revolution.”
“It’s the Fourth of July!”
America’s Problem Is That It’s Full of Americans
America is full of Americans, and Americans have lots of conflicting opinions. Now, that’s nothing new: we’ve had conflicting opinions for 250 years. No, our problem is not all our differences—our problem is that we don’t have a realistic plan for the future. What’s your plan to reach the people who don’t think like you, vote like you, look like you—the people that hate you and think you are the problem?
Many people seem to believe that if we just we speak the facts often enough and loudly enough, people will eventually understand and agree with us. We are like the stereotypical American abroad who thinks that if he just speaks English a bit LOUDER AND SLOWER, the French-speaking waiter will understand.
This is crazy, and I wrote a whole book about this insanity.
So, on the Fourth of July, there really is no point in pointing out all the ways that the other side is wrong. You may be right, but it’s not going to matter.
So, what would make a difference?
The best I can think of these days is that we Americans ought to be more like my mom.
How to Be Like My Mom
My mom has this really annoying habit of wanting to leave things better than she found them.
She’ll say, “We need to leave it better than we found it.”
We’ll reply, “But this is a hotel—they don’t expect you to clean the shower.”
(I exaggerate, but not by much.)
I don’t see much hope in a strategy of trying to convince other Americans that they are wrong—that’s a waste of time as a primary course of action. But, I see a lot of hope in the commitment to leave things better than I found them. I see a lot of hope in deciding to be more like my mom.
The only thing I can control is myself, and in a culture in which everyone seems intent on tearing down, the future will belong to the builders. It might not seem fair. It isn’t. It might seem like a sucker’s game, but you’re only a sucker if you walk in blind. If you walk in with open eyes, knowing in advance that no one is going to thank you, that you’ll be cleaning up messes that someone else made, that it would be easier just to do the bare minimum—if you walk in knowing all of that, but also knowing that there is no other way, then you’re not a sucker. You’re a builder, and the future belongs to the builders.
A Walk on the Beach With My Wife
On the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I think that those of us who love America and believe in America’s promise are just going to have to become more like my mom. Let the cynics and the nihilists carry on their bleak way—let’s be the ones who commit to leaving things better than we found them.
Last night, as my wife and I were walking on the beach, I saw a small green plastic bag sitting on the sand at the tide line, tied with a knot at the top. You know the bags I’m talking about—the ones people carry when they walk their dogs so they can clean up after themselves. (At least in theory.)
In this case, for some reason, someone had dropped a full bag right on the beach.
I was on a walk with my wife. It wasn’t my problem.
But I was thinking about my mom—“Leave things better than you found them”—and thinking about America and the Fourth of July and what the future is going to require.
So, I walked over, picked up the bag, and took the responsibility to throw it away.
The future belongs to the builders.
God’s not done yet.
Happy Fourth, everyone.
P.S. Want a good family movie to watch on the Fourth of July? I can’t recommend McFarland USA highly enough. Trust me!
