A Wonderful Life

On the morning of the fourth day after Christmas, in the year 2014, my friend, Kathy McCormick passed away.

We had known each other for more than ten years. We worked together for more than eight years. I was the Principal, she was an Assistant Principal. She battled cancer for almost five years. I was inspired by her courage and her determination to keep working in spite of the surgeries and evils of chemotherapy.

This morning when I received the first of many phone calls and text messages informing me of her life having passed away, my heart skipped a beat as I reacted and adjusted to what I was being told. I thought of her husband and her children, and all of the many other people that loved her so much. But I have spent a lot of time thinking about death. I have spent a lot of time thinking of my own death, and it is no longer something that I fear. It is not something that I dread. I realize that dying is something that all of us will eventually do. Death is simply the inevitable conclusion to either a life well lived or one that has been wasted. As I thought of the many hours, days, weeks, and years Kathy and I spent working together, I managed a smile. She will surely be missed, but her’s was a life well lived.

Each year during the Christmas Holidays I take the time to watch Frank Capra’s classic movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”, starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. It is a simple but poignant story of a bright young man (Stewart) who defers most of his dreams and ambitions and winds up living what to many might seem a “simple” life. He takes over his father’s savings and loan business when his father dies and saves it from dissolution during the Great Depression. He can’t serve in the World War due to deafness in one ear he received when he saved his younger brother from drowning when they were children. He misses out on a huge business opportunity because he is tied to the family business. He gets married but never goes on a honeymoon because he has to use all of his money to save the savings and loan during the depression.

As the years go by, the savings and loan does relatively well, until Stewart’s uncle loses a large deposit. Stewart realizes that he will be held responsible during a coming audit and will probably go to jail. He becomes so distraught over the prospect that he is on the verge of committing suicide by jumping into a river until an angel on a mission to earn his wings intervenes to save him. The angel convinces Stewart to appreciate life by showing him what the world would be like if his life had not occurred as it had.

George (Stewart’s character) soon realizes his brother would have died as a young boy if he had not saved his life. His brother went on to win the Medal of Honor when he saved the lives of 200 men on a transport ship. The small town of Bedford Falls would have been totally different without the homes that were built with loans from his family’s savings and loan. His wife would have been an old maid. His uncle would have been in an insane asylum. His children would not exist.

Once he realized all of these things, George rushed back home prepared to accept the consequences of the situation, but when he arrived he discovered that his wife had informed his friends about his predicament and the house was soon filled with friends that piled money on a table until the missing money was totally replaced. Of course, this all happened on Christmas Eve, and the angel (Clarence) got his wings.

Each time I watch this movie I have to hold back the tears during the final scene. For some reason, seeing this man realize the importance of his life, how he had made a positive impact on so many people and the town he lived in, and seeing so many people express their love and appreciation for him is personally affirmative. If he had jumped in the river and died, I would not feel the urge to cry. The end of life does not compare to the drama and emotion of the life that precedes it.

Kathy McCormick was an incredible lady. She was dedicated, dependable, loyal, kind, determined, small, and tough. It comforted me to know that she would tell me if she disagreed with me, but she would always do it privately. Sometimes she would convince me to change my mind, but regardless of the outcome, I knew that when she left my office or I left hers, she would do whatever it was I asked her to do to the best of her ability.

Kathy had tremendous integrity. She did not, would not lie or deceive. She cared for and took good care of her students, teachers, and parents. She took care of her Principal.

During the eight years we worked together I never wondered if she would be where she was supposed to be, when she was supposed to be there. During her first year as an administrator I gave her responsibility for the Freshman Class. For the next four years she did everything a parent would do to prepare them for life after high school, and then she graduated them. I immediately gave her the next group of freshmen, and for the next four years, she did the same thing again. I do not know where those 750 young adults are today, but wherever they go, and whatever they do they will always think of Ms. McCormick.

On the day that Kathy told me she had cancer, she was afraid. So was I. I didn’t know what to say. But that was okay. There is a time to speak, and a time to listen. This was a time to listen, so I kept my mouth shut and let her talk. She told me what she would have to do, and what I could expect. We hugged each other. We cried together. I told her she could have all the time off she wanted, but she didn’t want any time off. She wanted to work. As the days, weeks, and months went by, Kathy kept coming to work. I was amazed by her courage and her determination. There were days she would have chemo in the morning and come to work in the afternoon. There were days when I could look at her and see how sick she was, but she kept coming to work. There were times she would walk so unsteadily that I would want to pick her up and carry her to a chair or couch to get her off of her feet, but I knew her well enough to only follow close behind just in case.

I am not immune to grief. Perhaps a moment will occur one day when I will think of Kathy and cry my heart out. I know I will miss her, I already do. I feel great sadness for her children, and her husband too. But I hope that they, like me, will be thankful for the opportunity we had to spend so much time with such a beautiful, loving person.

Now is the time that I am thankful for my faith in God. Now is the time when I am comforted by his grace and inspired by his mercifulness. Go with God, Kathy. When my time has come and gone, I will be happy to testify, that you lived… A wonderful life.

A Christmas Truce

Each year during the month of December something special happens all over the world. Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus changes all of us. It seems to me that this is the only time of the year when “Peace on Earth and Goodwill toward Men” is a real possibility… At least temporarily.

Imagine a world where people are constantly focused on giving gifts to others to make them happy. Imagine the children of the world filled with the joy, anticipation and wonder of Christmas every day, trying to please their parents and the mystical “Santa” that brings those gifts.

The mothers and fathers of the world would be so happy to be able to look forward to having their families together regularly, and to be able to share the love that only families share. Many of the conflicts of daily life could be mitigated by the sheer proximity and the ability to simply talk to each other.

I love to go out and be among people during the holiday season. People are just friendlier. They are more likely to smile and talk to you. People are more willing to help you. They are more likely to tell you to enjoy the holidays and really mean it.

Although our economy has found a way to profit from our almost universal celebration, even the vast majority of the merchants shut down on Christmas Day. They call a truce, go home to be with their families, and allow their employees to do the same. The schools close, as well as the government. The Congress goes home, and the President too. The soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines go home too, (if they can get a pass).

For many people, Christmas is one of two times each year when they acknowledge that there may be something of this world greater than themselves. (The other time is Easter Sunday). Many will go to church, and some will simply think of the Nativity story they have heard since their own birth, listen to the ubiquitous carols, and quietly consider the wonder of it all.

Thankfully, the national news channels will take a break from the political and ideological wars. We will probably hear little about police brutality, immigration, Cuba, ISIS, the 2016 Presidential election, or North Korea. Lead stories on local news broadcasts might, just might, not be about the most frightening thing they can find or invent.

It is true, as the song says, “It’s the most……wonderful time of the year.”

In December of 1914, Pope Benedict XV, suggested a temporary Christmas truce during World War I. The leaders of the countries involved in the heaviest fighting, France, Germany, and Great Britain ignored him. The soldiers doing the actual fighting in the muddy, filthy, bloody, disease infected, miserable trenches had other ideas. On Christmas Eve the troops “started to sing Christmas carols to each other across the lines… At the first light of dawn on Christmas Day, German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the British lines across no-man’s land, calling out ‘Merry Christmas’ in their native tongues. At first the Allied soldiers thought it was a trick, but seeing that the Germans were unarmed they too climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with their enemies. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols together. Some of the soldiers even played a good natured game of soccer. Some of the soldiers used this time for the retrieval of the bodies of fellow soldiers who had fallen within the no-man’s land between the lines.”

On the next day, they went back to killing each other.

Nevertheless, Christmas has so much appeal to man’s humanity that it could literally push the pause button on a world war.

Last night my wife and I met with four of our friends in a restaurant in Silver Spring, Maryland. We have known each other for 30 years. We have worked together, worshipped together, and watched our children grow up together. We laughed, smiled, hugged, kissed, and reminisced. We took pictures, discussed the pros and cons of a digital world, solved some of the world’s problems, and admitted defeat on some of the others. We looked at each other and made mental notes of the changes the years have brought, while acknowledging how kind the years have been to each of us physically and mentally. We spoke of our love for each other, but more importantly, we felt our love for each other. The food was wonderful, but being together again was better.

Christmas, made us do it. Christmas was the reason we decided to call a truce in our busy lives and take the time to be with each other, to love each other, and promise to do it again, soon, and more often than we did in the previous year.

Of course, if we forget, Christmas will remind us…. Next year.

War Crimes

George W. Bush, the former President of the United States, is a war criminal. His Vice-President, Dick Cheney is a war criminal too, as well as his Attorney General, John Ashcroft, his legal counsel, Alberto Gonzalez, his National Security Advisor, Condoleeza Rice, and his Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld. All of them comprised the chain of command that ordered the systematic torture that resulted in the unconscionable abuse and outright murder of enemy combatants in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States of America.

On December 9, 2014 the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released a report that detailed the crimes committed by the Central Intelligence Agency on the orders of President Bush. In excruciating detail, the report describes enemy combatants being subjected to forced nudity, confinement in small boxes not much larger than a coffin, shackled stress positions with the arms above the head for up to 22 hours, sleep deprivation for days, waterboarding, slamming against walls, and “rectal feeding”, which is physiologically impossible, and which in reality was simply state-sanctioned rape. Prisoners were threatened with guns and electric drills. Some were threatened with the wholesale death of their families.

The celebrated Union General of the American Civil War, William Tecumseh Sherman once said, “War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.” The hell Sherman inflicted on the State of Georgia during his “March to the Sea” does not come close to the cruelty described in the Senate’s report.

Those that try to defend the actions of Bush’s CIA argue that the “EIT’s”, a convenient acronym for Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (They can’t bring themselves to call it what it is) were “effective”. That is not the issue. What is “effective” has nothing to do with what is right.

Slavery was tremendously “effective” improving the Southern economy. Does that make it right?

Apartheid was very “effective” in subjugating the majority population in South Africa. Was it right?

The holocaust was “effective” in removing more than six million Jews from the European continent. Was it right?

At the conclusion of World War Two, German and Japanese war criminals were tried for “crimes against humanity”. Many of them were imprisoned, some were hanged.

No one is going to arrest a former American President and his cabinet members and try them for war crimes. I suspect that the decision makers in the Bush White House knew that when the decisions were being made. I suspect that every time Dick Cheney defiantly says that he “would do it again” he is also thinking, “and what are you going to do about it?” Nevertheless, what was described in the report released by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence are, without a doubt, crimes against humanity. 

I will never forget September 11, 2001. I will not forget where I was when I heard the news. I will not forget my anger and my desire to avenge the brazen attacks on my country. I remember wishing I was still on active duty in the Marine Corps. I was ready to go to Afghanistan and destroy anything and anybody that had the unmitigated cruelty and gall to kill innocent American men, women, and children. I made note of the fact that about 2,500 military personnel were killed at Pearl Harbor, but 2,996 civilians were killed on 9/11.

I was ready to go to war, but I was not ready to surrender my humanity.

The Senate Report was an indictment for those responsible for this stain on the American heritage. To his credit, one of President Obama’s first acts as President was to say “stop”. No more EIT’s. No more torture. But even he knew that it would have been political Armageddon for him to try to prosecute his predecessor.

The only force in the world with the power to do anything about the war crimes committed in our names are the American people themselves. The South African people called it “Truth and Reconciliation”. It was difficult, but necessary.

It would be difficult for America as well, but it might be the only way that “government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”        

The Arc of The Moral Universe

Something is happening in America right now. People are marching in the streets. Americans of all creeds, colors, and political persuasions  agree that there is something wrong with the way Black men are dying at the hands of those that are sworn to protect us. Americans are angry, confused, disgusted, flabbergasted, that prosecutors refuse to prosecute, grand juries decline to indict, and perpetrators are allowed to walk when Black men and boys are being killed.

But, are we witnessing a series of “protests” or a “movement”? 

I fear that our attention span will not last long enough to effect the fundamental changes that are needed to make a real difference. I yearn for the charismatic leader that can articulate the righteous anger of the people in the streets. Do we have someone that can envision tangible, achievable goals and devise a coherent strategy and effective tactics that would utilize every available resource?

A “protest” is a spontaneous expression of disagreement. A “movement” is a coordinated series of events designed to achieve a specific goal. A “movement” to achieve significant social change requires skilled leadership, organization, dedicated people committed to the cause, money, coordination, patience, strategy, effective tactics, and martyrs.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott is considered by many to be the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement. It began on December 1, 1955 and lasted more than a year, until December 20, 1955. The Civil Rights Act was signed nine years later, in 1964. The Voting Rights Act was not signed until 1965.

Four score and seven years (87) would pass from the date of the Declaration of Independence and the day that Abraham Lincoln would declare “A new birth of freedom” in the Gettysburg Address.

The Women’s Suffrage Movement began in 1869. The 19^th amendment to the constitution giving women the right to vote would not be ratified until 1920, fifty one years later.

Social change takes time and commitment.

Racial prejudices are the root cause of recent events that have resulted in the highly publicized deaths of Black men and boys in Florida, New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Arizona. They are not isolated incidents. Black men are killed and abused by police all over America daily, and until the recent media firestorm, no one thought it was important enough to count how many were being killed.

Since before our country’s birth Black men have been the objects of fear and loathing. We have been denied equal opportunities in the attainment of anything of value, and our lives have always been valued in economic terms if they were valued at all.

Nevertheless, our nation is remarkably better than it was when my great grandmother was a slave. I had many more opportunities to achieve and excel than my mother did. My daughter has seen very little of the racial prejudice that I did. Her educational and career opportunities have been far better than my own.

There is a significant difference in the racial attitudes, fears, and prejudices of America’s younger generations when compared to those age fifty and older. That is our reason to hope. It is unlikely that the current protests will develop into the type of “movement” that has created significant social change in our country’s past. The news cycles are too short. The next crisis will push this from the headlines, and who wants to march in the streets if it’s not going to be on television?

But, Sam Cooke was right. A Change is Gonna Come.

On March 25, 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Alabama State Capital. As he looked out on Dexter Avenue, he could see that the wide avenue was packed with people. Many of them had been with him four days earlier in Selma, Alabama when they had begun their march from Selma to Montgomery in support of the Voting Rights Act that was pending in the US Congress. If he looked to his left he would see his own Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

Dr. King would deliver one of his most memorable speeches on that day, and his conclusion would include these words;

“I know you are asking today, “How long will it take?” I come to say to you this afternoon however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because truth pressed to earth will rise again.

How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever.

How long? Not long. Because you will reap what you sow.

How long? Not long. Because the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice”…