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Building Character - Page 2

© Patricia C. Behnke

The way we react during these times shows the mark of character either as the friend or as the one who is down. I recently read something written on a church sign. The words, "The only time we should be looking down on someone is when we are leaning down to help them up," have stuck with me. I want to have them stamped on mirrors and walls so wherever I look during the course of a day, I can be reminded of how to show true character.

We all need reminders that none of us has the right to act superior with another. And we may need repeated phrases, proverbs, adages, and cliches to help us remember along the way. When the recent election was decided, the person receiving the most praise was Al Gore because when he was down, he came through with dignity and grace. And the rest of the nation, even those who opposed him and will soon be leading this country, realized that but for the grace of one supreme court justice, Mr. Bush could have been the one making the concession speech. And so the next man chosen to lead the most powerful nation in the world, accepted Gore's concession with humility and grace. Both men showed character.

When does a man need to be loved the most? When he is on the top of the heap? That's the easiest time. Once again, Mama in A Raisin in the Sun says it best, when she tells her daughter, "Child, when do you think is the time to love somebody the most? When they done good and made things easy for everybody? Well then, you ain't through learning--because that ain't the time at all. It's when he's at his lowest and can't believe in hisself 'cause the world done whipped him so."

Literature, politics, and life somehow conspire together to teach us all how to live our lives a little more gracefully and peacefully. And perhaps by not judging our fellow man, we can help another person through difficult times with that same grace and peace. When the public schools can teach these things, then not all is lost.

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