I was raised in a conservative political and religious environment. This gave direction to my living until my views of reality were transformed in my late thirties. Some of this early environment was curse and some was blessing. During this Christmas season, I give focus to one of its blessings.
That blessing is inherent in the notion of grace. There is a line in a Christian hymn that captures this notion: “Oh, to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be.” I lift that notion out of Christian theology and apply it to the entirety of my living. Grace is unmerited favor. Synonyms are luck, fate, and fortune.
I was born at the beginning of the Great Depression. I grew up during that global conflict called World War II. Then came the peace of the nineteen fifties, the Vietnam War and the racial, gender, sexual revolutions of the sixties and seventies, the economic ups and downs of the eighties and nineties, the financial meltdown of 2008, the political right counter-revolution of the last ten years that transformed the Republican Party into an openly despotic enterprise, and the coronavirus pandemic that has spawned all manner of global problems.
Through all of these dramatic social upheavals, I remain blessed by having been born and raised in the most up-grade culture in human history. Despite all the dramas of social challenges and change, America remains a fount of blessing. And this reminds me of another line in a Christian hymn: “Count your blessings, name them one by one.” Christmas, supposedly, is about gifting. Blessings are gifts of value that, when lived, raise the quality of life.
What I am doing is reviewing my life and counting its blessings as the primal act of the Christmas season. And as I do so, one thing grabs me and suggests that I return the favor to my culture – that I become a blessing to its existence by upholding its primal values. These values are the foundation of its very existence which we often call democracy. Here are the three primary tenets of democracy:
- A commitment to the inherent worth of all its members.
- A commitment to the common good of this community.
- A commitment to their right to self-govern by voting.
All the blessings of American culture have come to me through its citizens and leaders seeking an unrelenting commitment to these three tenets. It is to these tenets and their influence that I bow in gratitude during this Christmas season. And in bowing I renew my commitment because being blest creates obligation.
“Oh, to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be.”
“Count your blessings, name them one by one.”
Robert
mythinglink.com
Very nice, a valuable reminder, thank you.
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