A Haiku - Character

Character counts much.

Without it we stumble on;

With it, we triumph.

Of what is it made?

Principal, faith, and courage,

Choosing, acting well.

Whose standards are yours?

The world's are always changing.

Real standards stand firm.

Your character counts.

It adds up the sum of you.

Make it worth your life.

__________

© 2014 Demas W. Jasper All rights reserved.

I used to think I understood the character of America.

Now I wonder if it exists....or ever did.

Americans are a diverse people.

Now it seems there are efforts to divide us into big states and little states. Admittedly they always existed, some larger, even much larger; some smaller, even much smaller.

But now the big states want to boast their "bigness" and the smaller states seem lost in the shuffle of modern values.

In elections of late the rhetoric has become targeted to appeal to our differences. Admittedly we have always had our differences of sex, color, ethnicity, but it seems the rhetoric is designed to carve us up into distinct segments and play us off one group against another.

In the past it seemed the national motto came from The Three Musketeers and was "All for one and one for all." Now, while we still mint our coinage with the motto "From many, one" it seems that increasingly it appears to be "From the many, for me". not President Kennedy's urging of "What can I do for my country?"

If America is adrift and grasping at straws, how do we regain or develop a strong national character?

In the past we patterned ourselves after chosen leaders we admired. Today we tend to discredit our national leadership with "low scores" for public confidence, and accusations of "leadership by fiat" and those who "do nothing".

Without shared, firm principles, and the courage to make wise choices while acting for the common good, how do we retain faith in the future of our society?

It has been said that "The Ship of State takes a long time to change and steer a new course."

If indeed we are concerned about where America is headed, it may behoove us to plot our future course as soon as possible so as to arrive at a destination we can mutually agree upon.

__________

© 2014 Demas W. Jasper All rights reserved.