I while back I listened to some of the eulogies that were given for our 41stpresident, George Herbert Walker Bush. One of things that moves me, when I’m listening to the accounts of the lives of those who have served all of us with such distinction, is it’s not always what they accomplished but how they lived their lives. This was a good and humble man who never became tainted by the politics of Washington even though he often had to try and play by their rules, simply because he was our President.
Alan Simpson, a friend, and a former Senator, read a quote that some of those who were in attendance should take to heart as they go about their business in the capital. His quote simply said that, “Hatred is one of the few things that will eventually corrode the vessel it is carried in.” Many of those in politics have gone away from just disagreeing with their opponents, they in turn, have turned to hating them and they are not shy about expressing it.
Many of those in attendance at the Cathedral and many of us watching it could feel we were standing in the shadow of greatness at that funeral that day. Not greatness so much for what he had accomplished but greatness for the way he lived his life. We will all be judged someday, if not by a greater power, at least by our peers. How nice it will be to have someone eulogize us and say, not what a great person we were but what a nice and kinder person we were. Our accomplishment will always be over shadowed at some point in life but how people will remembered us, as a kinder gentler person; will live on as long as their memories do.
I watched the demeanor of our current President as he sat stoic and expressionless throughout the ceremonies. His arms often folded across his chest in a defiant pose. I thought what is it like to go through life seemingly angry at everybody and everything? What is it like to have to go to a social event like this and know that the people who are sitting next to you in that row, are the same people you have been chastising for the last two years? What is it like for the people of this country to know that the person, we trust to run our country and keep it safe, seemingly can’t get along with anybody? This isn’t about the mans policies; this is about him. I know there are some out there who disagree with me but for the most part they too like the bully pulpit way of doing business. The flow of people in and out of this administration is unprecedented. He can’t even get along with his own appointees.
We are at a crossroads in this country. We went from one of the most respected nations on the face of the earth after World war II, to a country that right now has few friends in this world. There is no going it alone in this world anymore. We live in a global economy. We need them to buy our products, as much as we need some of their products. For all that to happen we need cooperation and cooperation is a side product of friendships and alliances that build trust. Without trust you have nothing.
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