By Edwin Cooney
A few weeks ago, Gary, a very thoughtful and insightful
reader of these musings, responded to a recent column I called “The Beckoning
Gateway". In that column, I compared
and contrasted, as best I could, the political beliefs held by the types of
voters who are likely to support the two major party presidential candidates
this fall.
In his response to the column, Gary, who is both a writer
and an editor, made three gripping observations:
Wonderful as it is, there is such a wealth of information
out there on the internet that there exists the danger that opinion too often
is raised to the level of fact;
people are increasingly more interested in what they believe
than in what the unvarnished facts can teach them; and, finally,
there is that vital question of whether we are ultimately
driven by what we fear or by what we hope.
As I see it, there are three main sources that direct our
lives.
First, there is the degree to which we’re directed or not
directed by our faith or lack thereof in God or in a sense of spirituality. Second, there exists the physical and
social sciences through which we gather, analyze, and evaluate knowledge. Third, there is the matter of how human
experiences ultimately affect us.
So the question is twofold. What kind of knowledge do we feed into our belief
system? Are our beliefs driven by
what we fear or by what we hope?
For most of us the answer to that question is probably a combination of
both. However, my guess is that
since knowledge is seemingly so endless, it is what we believe that ultimately
governs who we are and what we do.
The late news commentator Paul Harvey used to assert that
what we believe in governs our character.
“I believe in my God, in my country and in myself and in
that order,” Mr. Harvey once said.
I was 18 years old when I had the opportunity to meet him
and hear him say that in person and it sounded pretty good to me. Back then I was desperately in search
of a sense of belonging and that man’s focus and certainty inspired a badly
needed sense of identity and confidence on my part.
Over the years, however, a lifetime of observations and
experiences have taught me that Mr. Harvey’s observation, although eloquently
expressed, was a little parochial if not dogmatic.
As I grow older, my search for identity with God is more
personal than institutional.
Scripture tells us that God created humanity and the whole world. Human beings, however, created the
nations of the world as they understood God’s will and how God’s will could
best serve them. Thus, as I see
it, we in America could better serve God’s will and thus better serve ourselves
to the degree that we come to the realization that what we offer others is
equally important as what we do for ourselves.
Speaking strictly for myself then, I am mostly a
believer. What I learn through
information gathering and analysis I try and feed into my personhood.
As I’ve often stated in these weekly writings, as much as I
can, I avoid fear. Fear is the
father of self-destructive anger.
That’s the real power in FDR’s assertion in his 1933 Inaugural that:
“The only thing we have to fear is, fear itself—-nameless,
unreasoning unjustified terror that paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat
into advance.”
Sense of fear may be necessary to protect myself and those I
love, but I can’t grow when I’m afraid.
Back then to Gary’s third question: are you driven more by
what you fear or what you hope? As
you can guess, I vote for hope!
(Remember Jesse Jackson’s “Keep Hope Alive?” slogan?) Some of you may protest that knowledge
is more tangible than either fear or hope, but I contend that whether one is
fearful or hopeful directly affects one’s search for knowledge. If one only gives credit to the kind of
knowledge that can be measured, then I believe that person at some basic level
is very, very lonely.
What I hope for most in life is beyond measure. Yet both the rich and the poor, the
educated as well as the uneducated seek it. It doesn’t weigh anything; it doesn’t have a taste or
smell. It gives off no sound sense
of vibration or movement. Kings
and queens, politicians, sports and entertainment stars crave it as much as
money. It can be neither bought
nor sold. No human being on earth
can thrive without it. It cannot
feed the body but its absence starves the soul. We know it as love.
One more thing: I can’t prove it to you, but you can prove
it to yourself if you choose -- love is a gift from you-know-who!
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
EDWIN COONEY
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