Stories From Under A Bootheel (Rants, Laughs, and Tears)

Forward Part 2 Standards of the Past

The metaphorical bootheel I was born under refers to the oppressive culture of the general area just south of the Missouri bootheel, where the heat, humidity and mosquitoes of the Mississippi river delta were not the only elements making life miserable. Like the bootheel of a fascist tyrant crushing down on a helpless victim, the beliefs, customs, and social institutions of the region trampled any free or progressive thinking, condemning the inhabitants to outdated ways and impoverished lifestyles.

It was a land where they preached Christianity and practiced Darwinism although it is doubtful, many of the inhabitants had read either the Bible or Origin of the Species. Of course, that didn't prevent them from espousing their own interpretations of both — interpretations which tended toward extremes that the authors certainly never intended.

To them, Darwinism translated to "survival of the fittest" and the Nietzschean corollary "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." And, believe me, they put a lot of effort into challenging your survival trying to make you stronger.

Their interpretations of Christianity, somehow, managed to reconcile those teachings with segregation. Preaching, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" while treating an entire race as inferiors requires a very distorted mindset. To be kind, many were just blind to their own hypocrisy. Actually, blindness and kindness are the two words I would use to characterize the folks in that region. Unfortunately, like good intentions, kindness when mixed with ignorance makes for good pavement for the road to hell.

I don't mean to criticize either the Darwinian view of life as a competitive struggle or the Christian teachings on moral behavior. They both have positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, competitiveness encourages creativity and industry, while morality promotes the fairness and understanding that allows people to work together. The negative appears when competition and religious dogma are abused or taken to extremes. As always, it is important to seek Aristotle's golden mean between two extremes.

Perhaps Sheldon's mother in the "Big Bang Theory" put it more eloquently than even Aristotle. She explained her reaction to Leonard's mother's rude behavior saying, "A good Christian would have turned the other cheek. On the other hand, a good Texan would have shot her, so I'll just split the difference." Although, they are often thought of as being diametrically opposed, the Darwinian attitude of the Texan and the tolerant attitude of the Christian, both played instrumental and positive roles in the early development of the United States as well as in my own early development. The trick is in splitting the difference.

It distresses me how many people today fail to see the value of institutionalized morality or of the Texan's unrelenting attitudes. These combined with a strong work ethic and a philosophy of self-sufficiency built this country and ensured the liberties we now take for granted. Too many today see freedom as an entitled right, forgetting the sacrifices made by others to secure that freedom. In fact, they seemed to view everything as an entitlement forgetting that the only things you are entitled to are those that you have earned.

Today's youth are taught self-esteem rather than self-sufficiency or accountability. Rather than improving themselves, they shore-up their self-esteem by blaming their shortcomings on others. I was taught self-esteem was something you had to earn and that if something happened to you it was your fault. It was shameful to be a victim, not something to broadcast to the world expecting someone else to fix the problem.

Even before the television show NCIS popularized the philosophy, "never say you're sorry, it is a sign of weakness" my father made it clear to me. If I ever said, "I'm sorry" my father would say, "You certainly are." I was expected to fix my mistakes not apologize for them. Anyone who thought apologies could compensate for shortcomings, was in my father's mind a sorry individual.

Today's youth expect someone else, usually the government, to provide for all of their needs. Unfortunately, today's politicians have only encouraged this attitude. They espouse giving people fish rather than teaching them how to fish.

You keep giving a man a fish, and he will never learn to fish for himself. When no one knows how to fish, those looking to the government for help will be greatly disappointed. Most politicians only know how to fish for votes. I have no doubt the day will come when the expectations of the masses will be tragically subverted. The laws of nature and of nature's God are oblivious to the desires, protests, and whining of sorry individuals.

I know I am ranting and I'm not going to apologize for it. I will try to fix it with the humor in later chapters. But this rant is necessary to give you a feel for the period and place of my upbringing. As you can tell, it was very different from today's world. One should never judge the past by the standards of the present. Of course, that doesn't stop me from judging the present by the standards of the past. Age and a lifetime of hard-earned experience has earned me that privilege.

Kids, there is no substitute for experience. Remember that when your parents tell you, "because I said so." Realize that sometimes there is not enough time for an explanation and when you can't get one, deferring to the voice of experience is usually the best choice.  

The wisest people I have known rarely give their opinions unless they are specifically asked and even then, they realize that everyone views the world from a slightly different perspective and that absolute truths are not as common as we might like. The wise offer their advice sparingly. Clearly, I am not that wise. Hopefully, even if you don't agree with me, you will at least find the presentation entertaining.