Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Fanfare for a Common Man

Don Boudreaux, of the Cafe Hayek blog, honors the inheritance left to him by his father in a moving letter to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Too few men are truly great. Greatness comes from within and is often invisible to eyes unfamiliar with a great person. A man is great only if he is responsible; only if he is a loyal and loving husband and father and friend; only if he teaches his children and grandchildren properly, not only with words but by example; only if he is free of envy and spite and pettiness.

And on his blog:

Society progresses only through the countless decencies, creative acts, honest exchanges, and faithfulness to responsibilities performed daily by millions of persons, nearly all of whom will be forgotten within a few decades of their deaths. Unfortunately, the monuments we humans build are chiefly to conquerors, tyrants, arrogant pretenders, and buffoons -- persons who, through the very acts that win them their 'honor,' help to undermine the progress promoted by the decent, unheralded many.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would agree with Don. Man loves to look on the outward appearance which more often than not promotes the "arrogant pretenders" that are miserable persons.

The two quotes you posted remind me of a book I recently read, "A Far Country" and its portrayal of the main character. The book was written before 1920, so I guess we could say that human nature hasn't changed all that much.

There are also many spiritual truths that support and clarify the comparison of the two men Boudreaux describes.

Justus Hommes said...

I would like to retract my previous theory - Ham was not Gay.

Anonymous said...

And neither was Francis Bacon.