Where does greatness come from?

Abraham Lincoln did not attend an Ivy League college. He was not wealthy as was Thomas Jefferson or George Washington.

Harry S. Truman owned a haberdashery in Kansas City, and once declared bankruptcy when his business failed.

King David of Israel was a ruddy shepherd, obviously not considered destined for greatness by his father. When the prophet Samuel came to anoint the next king, his father did not even present him for consideration to the great man.

According to the gospels, Jesus of Nazareth was born to two poor peasants in first century Palestine - a land conquered and occupied by a hated overlord.

All of these great men were not destined for greatness in the eyes of others. And yet, there is no doubt that - to varying degrees - they did achieve some degree of it.  Although hindsight is always clearer, would we - had we been alive in their day - would we have seen where their lives would lead and end?

So, if great education is not the predictor of greatness - if an established family heritage and fortune is no guarantee, from whence then does greatness spring?

Almost all parents - of which I am one - are poorly trained to begin the task of shaping the life of another. I was 25 years old, and had not yet even begun to unravel the mystery of my own life - before I was responsible for molding another one.

Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Winston Churchill

Churchill's famous quote can also be applied to life in general. Both parent and child are attempting to play their parts in a great drama where key pages of the script have been lost or placed in the wrong order.

It is a common experience for children to be angry for the poor job of parenting they endured. It is a common experience until the child becomes the parent. Then, a certain dread and realization sinks in - they did the best they could under the circumstances. If the new parent, once child, is honest about it - they will admit that all parents are ill-equipped and error-prone.

And yet. And yet in spite of obvious errors, in spite of obvious barriers to greatness, some of us actually do achieve it. How then?

From our youngest days, we are taught to be "good" - to play by the rules and stay in our lane. Our parents certainly meant well when they instructed us according to the family myth, the traditions of the elders as they interpreted them. Parents do this because they believe that goodness is required for greatness. They are convinced that to live a happy and fulfilled life, we must work hard, follow the rules, and get along with others.

The problem, however, with these at least admirable intentions are one of definition and assumption.  By whose rules are we to play? And who will determine if we should go along and get along - or refuse to do so?

Should victims of oppression willingly submit - or resist?

When the rules are unjust - when the laws are evil and wicked, what then should we do?
I do not have clear answers - only indications. I cannot provide a checklist - either to young parents or idealistic collegians. I can only suggest that greatness is as much a mystery as was Russia to Winston Churchill.

Some history-making is intentional; much of it is accidental. People make history when they scale a mountain, ignite a bomb, or refuse to move to the back of the bus. But they also make history by keeping diaries, writing letters, or embroidering initials on linen sheets. History is a conversation and sometimes a shouting match between present and past, though often the voices we most want to hear are barely audible. People make history by passing on gossip, saving old records, and by naming rivers, mountains, and children. Some people leave only their bones, though bones too make a history when someone notices. 

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History

I do know this one thing, however. Greatness never comes from should. It comes from must. Neither well-behaved women nor men ever made history. The great ones of history - from Joan of Arc to Malcolm X - from Susan B. Anthony to Martin Luther King - rarely followed the script of their ancestors.

Their greatness came from a compulsion that could not be ignored. Their lives and sometimes death - resulted from their obedience to the inner voice that none other could hear or recount.

If today, you are weary. If today you feel that your life lacks the meaning, the purpose that will have justified your years of toil and tears, I ask you to reconsider. I beg you to remember those childhood dreams that you considered foolish or too lofty.

I beg you to no longer do those things that you should do, but to begin to do those things you must do - lest that burning ember in your heart and soul finally snuffs out from lack of oxygen.

Do that thing that none but you can do. Do that one thing that - unless you do it - will not be done in your generation, but will be delayed until the coming of the next generation of dreamers.

And, so on the day we celebrate in the USA as the Martin Luther King Holiday, I leave you with a few words from his most famous speech.

I have a dream today. 

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. 

I have a dream today. 

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. 

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. 

With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. 

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring. - Martin Luther King, August 28, 1963

dg
1/16/17

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