Heroes you should know: Rachel Carson

“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.” -Rachel Carson


Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, an acclaimed non-fiction author, and a conservationist who is considered by many to be the inspiration of the modern environmental movement.

Carson was reared on her family’s 65 acre farm in Pennsylvania, where she developed a love for nature and writing. She majored in Biology at the Pennsylvania College for Women, and did graduate work in zoology and genetics at Johns Hopkins. Her doctoral work was interrupted by the death of her father, and she decided to drop out of school in order to provide financially for her family. She took a job with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries writing script for a weekly radio program. This led to her doing marine research, and eventually becoming a biologist for the Bureau.

By 1949 Carson had become the chief editor of publications at what was now the Fish and Wildlife Service. The job provided opportunities for her to spend time in the field, and to increase her writing projects. In addition to her government work, she was also writing essays for journals like The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and Collier’s, and had completed the first book of her trilogy on marine life. The Sea Around Us would remain on the New York Times Best Seller List for 86 weeks.

In 1952 the commercial success of her writing enabled Carson to quit her job with the government and work full-time as a writer and environmental researcher. She had become deeply concerned with the use of DDT and other synthetic pesticides and was actively compiling research on the negative consequences for both the environment and humankind (including findings based on hundreds of individual cases of exposure to pesticides and the connection with cancer).

This work was finally presented in her controversial and best-selling Silent Spring. The book, published in 1962, is a bleak portrayal of a natural world destroyed by pesticides. Its release, and the furor it caused, was an international phenomenon. The U.S. Department of Agriculture---which at the time was responsible for both regulating pesticides and advocating for the agricultural industry---and the chemical industry ferociously attacked both the book and Carson (personally and professionally).

Yet she never wavered. And on May 15, 1963 President Kennedy's Science Advisory Committee issued a report that largely supported her claims.

A year later, Rachel Carson’s life was cut short by cancer. But her courage, her integrity, and her global influence on the way humans understand stewardship of the natural world is still felt today.

On June 9, 1980, Rachel Carson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States.

She is a hero you should know.



To learn more about this hero, you might consider:


-Wikipedia: Rachel L. Carson

-1,000 years, 1,000 People, by Agnes and Henry Gottlieb and Barbara and Brent Bowers

-Encyclopædia Britannica: Rachel Carson

-The Gentle Subversive: Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, and the Rise of the Environmental Movement, Mark Hamilton Lytle

Heroes you should know: Frances Perkins

“Contentment tends to breed laxity, but a healthy discontent keeps us alert to the changing needs of our time."  –Frances Perkins


Frances Perkins (April 10, 1880 – May 14, 1965) was the first woman named to the United States Presidential Cabinet, and as Secretary of Labor for Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s entire term was arguably the conscience of the New Deal Era.

Born and reared in Massachusetts, Perkins graduated with a B.A. in chemistry and physics from Mount Holyoke College, and a M.A. in political science from Columbia University. During these years, Perkins also volunteered in settlement houses (including Hull House) where she worked with social reformers and low-income neighbors for change.

The trajectory of her life was further altered by personally witnessing the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, the deadliest industrial accident in the history of New York City where 146 garment workers perished---many because managers had locked the doors to the exits and stairwells.

In 1913 Perkins married Paul Caldwell Wilson, and then fought for and won the right to keep her maiden name in court.

She caught the eye of Franklin Delano Roosevelt when she headed the New York Consumers League in 1910 and fought diligently for better hours and workplace conditions for laborers. And when he was elected governor of New York, FDR appointed Perkins New York State Commissioner of Labor.

Simply by virtue of being the first woman named to a presidential cabinet Frances Perkins’ legacy would be noteworthy. But when one considers the fact that she was largely responsible for the United States instituting social security, a minimum wage, unemployment benefits, a maximum work week, and regulation of child labor she becomes an icon for justice in the workplace.

In addition to her years of service as Secretary of Labor, Perkins was also a university professor, an author, and at the special request of President Truman a member of the United States Civil Service Commission.
Frances Perkins labored for labor with uncommon courage, and in the process reminded America that human dignity is a fragile and precious gift that must be fought for and protected.

She is a hero you should know.


To learn more about this hero, you might consider:


The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience, Kirstin Downey
Frances Perkins: First Woman Cabinet Member, Emily Keller
1,000 years, 1,000 People, by Agnes and Henry Gottlieb and Barbara and Brent Bowers

Heroes you should know: Witold Pilecki

“During the first 3 years at Auschwitz, 2 million people died; over the next 2 years - 3 million.”         -Witold Pilecki


Witold Pilecki (May 13, 1901 – May 25, 1948) was a captain in the Polish Army, founded the Secret Polish Army resistance group, volunteered to enter a concentration camp, and died a martyr for freedom.

Before he’d even graduated from high school Pilecki had fought in World War 1 and in the Polish-Soviet War. After graduating from high school, he studied at Stefan Batory University and also took officer’s training courses. In 1938, he received the Silver Cross of Merit for his social work in the local community.

When the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, Pilecki fought in several of the bloodiest battles, and when his unit was disbanded he co-founded one of Poland’s earliest underground resistance groups. In 1940, when questions began to arise about the goings-on at a prison camp in Oświęcim (known in English as Auschwitz), Pilecki volunteered to intentionally get captured and sent there.

Carrying false identification papers, he entered the concentration camp as a prisoner in 1941. There, he formed a secret resistance group, ZOW, dedicated to caring for the physical needs of the prisoners, but also to gathering intelligence about the Nazi activities in the camp, including number of arrivals and death statistics.

For close to a year, in an effort to raise awareness of the evil of Auschwitz, the group even broadcasted reports from inside the camp, by building a radio transmitter with smuggled parts.

For three years, ZOW supplied intelligence for the Polish Resistance and the Allied Forces, which Pilecki had hoped would lead to troops liberating the concentration camp. Unfortunately, the Polish Resistance lacked the soldiers to pull off an attack, and British Intelligence considered his findings to be grossly exaggerated. Thus, no plan of liberation materialized and the killing continued for two more years in Auschwitz.

In 1943, Pilecki and a group of men escaped with documents stolen from Nazi commanders there. He immediately returned to battle but was captured again by the Nazis during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 and spent the remainder of the war a POW.

From 1945 until 1947, Captain Pilecki continued to work in Intelligence, now gathering information about Soviet atrocities against Poles. Even though he was told by the Polish government-in-exile that his cover had been blown, he did not leave his country. He was captured by the Communists on May 8, 1947, charged with espionage, and executed on May 25, 1948.

After the fall of Communism, Witold Pilecki’s story finally came to light. In 2006 he received the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest honor.

“To fight for the right, without question or pause ...
To be willing to march into Hell for a Heavenly cause ...”

Witold Pilecki lived what others sing about.


He is a hero you should know.




To learn more about this hero, you might consider:
Six Faces of Courage. Secret agents against Nazi tyranny, Michael Richard Daniell Foot
The Mammoth Book of True War Stories, Jon E. Lewis
Tchorek, Kamil (12 March 2009), "Double life of Witold Pilecki, the Auschwitz volunteer who uncovered Holocaust secrets", The Times (London)

Heroes you should know: Lou Xiaoying

"I realized if we had strength enough to collect garbage how could we not recycle something as important as human lives.” –Lou Xiaoying


People become heroes in the most unlikely places. For Lou Xiaoying it was the garbage dumps of Jinhua in eastern China. There in 1972, while searching for recyclable rubbish to resell, she found her first baby. In total Lou has saved 30 abandoned babies, dumped like trash amidst the trash. She and her late husband adopted four, and found homes for the other 26 with family and friends.

Lou has not let her material poverty or advanced age limit her charity. She brought home and adopted her last child when she was 82 years-old, and is raising him with the help of her 49 year-old daughter. Now 88, and suffering from kidney failure, this great soul’s dying wish is for her little boy to be given the chance to go to school. It’s the one gift she hasn’t been able to give him.

What’s almost as stunning as Lou Xiaoying’s generosity is the fact that the Chinese government has allowed her story to be reported. Her life’s mission, and the lives she’s saved over the years while simply trying to make a living, has shed new light on the consequences of China’s one-child policy.

It is a conservative estimate that 36,000 abortions occur every day in China (a significant number of which are forced), and untold numbers of newborn babies are abandoned or simply killed as couples try to comply with the policy and avoid harsh penalties. Female infanticide remains a particular problem.

Lou Xiaoying’s initial goal was survival, not heroism. But by choosing to embrace life in the garbage dumps of eastern China and sacrificing to save what is most precious and valuable, she has challenged the culture of death in her country---and given the world a reason to hope in humanity.

She is a hero you should know.


To learn more about this hero, you might consider:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2181017/Lou-Xiaoying-Story-Chinese-woman-saved-30-abandoned-babies-dumped-street-trash.html

Heroes you should know: Eric Liddell

"It’s complete surrender.” -Eric Liddell


Eric Henry Liddell (January 16, 1902 – February 21, 1945) was a Scottish athlete, an Olympian, a teacher, and a Christian missionary. His success in the Paris Olympics of 1924, is portrayed in the movie Chariots of Fire.

Liddell was born to missionary parents serving in China, but at age six was sent to boarding school in England. Excelling in both athletics (track, rugby, and cricket) and academics, he was renowned for his great humility from an early age. Liddell entered Edinburgh University in 1921, where he studied Pure Science, and after the Olympics returned there to graduate in 1924.

Because of his commitment to not work on Sundays, in honor of the Christian Sabbath, Eric Liddell refused to run in an Olympic heat for the 100 meters and was disqualified. His beliefs also prevented him from competing on the British 4 X 400 meter relay team. These unavoidable scheduling conflicts were seen months in advance, but no amount of pressure could force him to change his mind. He was able to compete in the 400 meter dash and the 200 meter dash, where he won gold and bronze medals.

Liddell’s unwillingness to compromise his beliefs in order to compete for more medals was radical even in 1924, and garnered international attention. But it was what he did away from the track, the media, and the multitude of adoring fans that makes him truly heroic.

Leaving behind fame and the wealth that would certainly have followed his Olympic success, Liddell returned to China in 1925 as a teacher and a missionary, and worked among the poor. By 1941, the Japanese aggression in China had reached the point that the British government advised all British citizens to leave. Liddell’s wife and three daughters escaped to Canada, but Eric remained to serve the sick and injured in a mission hospital with his brother. Soon after he was captured by the Japanese and sent to an internment camp.

Eyewitnesses reported that in spite of harsh living conditions he continued to be a joyful presence, organizing sports games for the youth in the camp and teaching science classes, encouraging his fellow prisoners to persevere in hope, and continuing to speak of God’s love and forgiveness. In 1945, five months before the camp was liberated, Eric Liddell died.

In conjunction with the build-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the Chinese government revealed that Eric Liddell had been given the chance to be released from the camp, but chose instead to transfer his pardon to a pregnant woman. This act of sacrifice had been previously unknown even to Liddell’s family.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. (2 Timothy 4:7).

Eric Liddell was great not for what he won, but for what he was willing to lose…for the greater good of humankind.

He is a hero you should know.


To learn more about this hero, you might consider:
Eric Liddell: Something Greater Than Gold , by Janet & Geoff Benge
Eric Liddell: Olympian and Missionary , by Ellen Caughey
God's Joyful Runner, by Russell Ramsey

Heroes you should know: Elizabeth Blackwell

“It is not easy to be a pioneer --- but oh, it is fascinating! I would not trade one moment, even the worst moment, for all the riches in the world.” -Elizabeth Blackwell

Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 1821 – 31 May 1910), social and moral reformer, was the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States.

Born in England, she immigrated to the United States in 1832 with her parents and siblings. There her family became deeply connected to the Abolitionist movement and her character formation deepened. She would routinely attend anti-slavery conventions and lectures on civil rights.

After her father’s death, Elizabeth and her sisters founded a school for girls. During this time, Elizabeth also began expressing her thoughts on women’s rights and the importance of economic independence. When a friend died a painful death from what was described as a gynecological disorder Blackwell believed could have been better understood and treated by a woman, she began to consider medical school. The fact that abortionists were known as "female physicians" is also said to have influenced her decision, as she found the phrase both degrading and misrepresentative of what an actual female physician could achieve. She was denied acceptance to several medical schools because of her gender, but was finally admitted to Geneva Medical College after the all-male student body voted to allow her to attend.

Once there she continued to face resistance, being treated as a pariah and even needing to face down a professor who attempted to ban her from lectures on reproduction. She graduated in 1849, and for two years worked in England and France. She decided to return to the United States in 1851 where she believed the bias against women doctors was less strong.

Inspired by her struggles against prejudice from fellow physicians, hospital staffs, and patients, Blackwell started an infirmary in New York for indigent women and children, along with a training program for nurses. She also began mentoring other young women attempting to become physicians. During this period she also became close friends with Florence Nightingale (who argued with her about the legitimacy of training women as physicians).

During the Civil War Blackwell helped train nurses for the Union, undeterred by the male physicians who threatened to not help with the program if Blackwell was involved.

After the war, she returned to London where she co-founded the London School of Medicine for Women.

In 1877 she retired from medical practice and spent the rest of her professional life writing and lecturing on a wide variety of issues, including the role of morality in medical education and practice, women’s rights, physical education for girls, the evil of eugenics, natural family planning, and preventative medicine.

Elizabeth Blackwell was a physician of the body, but her moral courage and willingness to fight for equal rights made her a healer of the human soul as well.

She is a hero you should know.



To learn more about this hero, you might consider:

Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D., (1821-1910): a biography, by Nancy Ann Sahli

Elizabeth Blackwell, Encyclopedia Americana.

1,000 years, 1,000 People, by Agnes and Henry Gottlieb and Barbara and Brent Bowers

Heroes you should know: Jane Addams

“The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.” -Jane Addams



Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 – May 21, 1935) was a social activist for the poor, for women’s rights, and for world peace, and she became the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.


Addams grew up in an affluent home that knew both great privilege and great loss. Her father was a prominent politician, a founding member of the Illinois Republican party, a state senator for fifteen years, and a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln. But at two years-old Addams’ mother died in childbirth, and by the time she was eight four of her seven siblings had also died. Addams also contracted tuberculosis of the spine at age four, which led to lifelong health issues.


Observing the work of her father, and reading the Bible, the writings of social reformers, and the novels of Charles Dickens, Addams developed a heart for the poor and longed to be of service. Believing that the most good could be done by becoming a doctor, Addams graduated from Rockford Female Seminary in 1881, and prepared to attend medical school. That summer her beloved father died, and she inherited the equivalent of what today would be $1.2 million. Her plans were unaltered by this event, and she began her graduate studies that fall. However, health issues and a mental breakdown forced her to quit school.


Despondent, she decided to travel to Europe, and it was there she understood that her desire to help the poor could be accomplished without a medical degree. After studying models of settlement homes in London, where students live among the poor and learn by serving the underserved, Addams decided to replicate the model in the United States. She used her sizeable fortune to purchase a run-down mansion in Chicago and pay for the considerable capital expenses. And Hull House was born.


Over time, Addams was able to engage many wealthy women benefactors for Hull House, where 25 women lived and approximately 2,000 people were served weekly. There, the poor of Chicago were able to receive food, children received an education, and adults were able to attend night school. But those who served at Hull House, or came to observe the work there, were impacted as much if not more. And the settlement house became a school for social reform, where the preached message was actually practiced as well.


Jane Addams would go on to lecture throughout the world, advocating for social justice issues. Her pacifism during World War 1 and her strong opinions about immigrants’ civil rights drew sharp criticism in America, and she was called “unpatriotic”, “anarchist”, and “socialist.” But she was undaunted. Addams was elected president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in 1915, and was also an active member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation USA. She remained outspoken in her belief that women had a special responsibility to fight for peace.


In 1931 she became the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, and she promptly donated her prize money to the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.


Jane Addams was the quintessential example of, “Think globally and act locally.” Her compassionate vision for the socially and economically vulnerable made her a prophet. But her willingness to act, to suffer and sacrifice for that vision, makes her great.


She is a hero you should know.




To learn more about this hero, you might consider:

Citizen: Jane Addams and the Struggle for Democracy, By Louise W. Knight
Encyclopedia of women's history in America, Kathryn Cullen-DuPont
The Jane Addams Collection at Swarthmore College Peace Collection

Heroes you should know: Gino Bartali

“One does these things, and that’s that…” -Gino Bartali


Gino Bartali (July 18, 1914 - May 5, 2000), known affectionately as “Gino the Pious,” was an international cycling champion. He won the Giro d’Italia three times, and the Tour De France twice (1938 and 1948) ---the ten year gap between Tour victories being the largest in the history of the race. But what he did on and with his bike, was about so much more than athleticism.


Bartali was already famous for his racing success when the dark clouds of Nazism and Fascism began to shadow his world. Because of his standing as a national sports hero, though, he could have easily avoided the politics and suffering around him and waited out the war. But Bartali loved what was best about his country and humankind too much to avoid engagement. And when a friend asked him to become involved in the Italian Resistance, he agreed…aware that his choice would put not just him in jeopardy, but potentially his wife and newborn son as well.


He began using his cycling workouts as a cover for his new calling. He’d don his racing jersey with his famous name emblazoned across the back and ride hundreds of miles between Florence and Rome carrying secret messages and documents to the network of safehouses, churches, and convents in the resistance. This included counterfeit identity documents which Jews were able to use to hide their true identities and avoid deportation to concentration camps. His fame allowed him to ride without harassment by the fascist police and the Nazi soldiers, who wished to avoid a potential public relations nightmare

And as if  this wasn't enough, Gino Bartali also hid a Jewish family in an apartment he’d purchased with his cycling prize money until the end of the war.


In 1943, one of the Italian resistance groups was discovered, and Bartali was brought in for questioning by the fascists. He was interrogated and threatened with death, but admitted nothing and was eventually released. Soon after, he literally pulled a number of Jews to safety by attaching a wagon with a secret compartment to the back of his bicycle and riding for the Swiss Alps. He told patrols that stopped him along the way that it was part of his new training regimen.


Gino Bartali was a remarkable athlete who cycled for Italy…but even more for humanity. And that’s what made him not just a true champion, but an eternal champion.

He is a hero you should know.


To learn more about this hero, you might consider:
Road to Valor: A True Story of WWII Italy, the Nazis, and the Cyclist Who Inspired a Nation, by Aili McConnon and Andres McConnon.

Heroes you should know: Dorothea Dix

“Man is not made better by being degraded…”
-Dorothea Dix


Dorothea Lynde Dix (April 4, 1802 – July 17, 1887) was an American activist who overcame an abusive childhood and chronically poor health to become a crusader for poor and imprisoned people struggling with disabilities and mental illness.


At the age of 19, Dix opened a school that catered to the wealthy families of Boston, but also began educating poor children out of her home. Due to health issues, however, she was forced to leave the school after three years. For the better part of two decades she wrote devotional and children’s books, and travelled to England where she was mentored by a Quaker community that deeply influenced her thinking about social reform.


Back in the United States in 1841, Dix returned to writing and teaching, and also began going to the jail in East Cambridge Massachusetts to lead a Sunday school class. It was there, one Sunday, that she witnessed a group of shivering, mentally ill people being herded into cells like animals. When she expressed concern, she was told not to worry about those patients since they could not feel the cold.


And an activist was born!


Dorothea Dix, outraged at this inhumane treatment, began her own statewide investigation. She discovered that most towns and cities would contract out the care of indigent mentally ill people not imprisoned to the private sector, where there were no regulations and generally poor funding. These conditions led to widespread abuse.


To build her case for national reform, Dix began travelling throughout the United States, studying and documenting the treatment of these terribly vulnerable members of society. And because of her findings and her passionate lobbying of state legislatures and the United States Congress, new laws were written to protect the indigent mentally ill. Additionally, special hospitals were built in fifteen states and Canada.


Except for the Civil War, where she served as the Superintendent of Army Nurses for the Union Army and distinguished herself by her compassionate attention to Union and Confederate soldiers alike, Dix continued to champion the cause of proper care for poor people struggling with disabilities and mental illness until she was eighty.



Those dismissed by too many as “throw-aways” were seen by this exceptional woman as precious, and worthy of respect and care.


“If you’ve done it to the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you’ve done it to me...”


Dorothea Dix did more than hear the words of Jesus, she lived them. And humanity is nobler because of it.

She is a hero you should know.




To learn more about this hero, you might consider:

The Life of Dorothea Lynde Dix, by Francis Tiffany
Angel of Mercy; The Story of Dorothea Lynde Dix, by Rachel Baker
Breaking the Chains: The Crusade of Dorothea Lynde Dix, by Penny Colman
1,000 years, 1,000 People, by Agnes and Henry Gottlieb and Barbara and Brent Bowers

Heroes you should know: Lucretia Mott

“If our principles are right, why should we be cowards?”
-Lucretia Mott


Lucretia Mott (January 3, 1793 – November 11, 1880) has been called “the first voice of American women.” She was a Quaker, an abolitionist, a minister, a women’s rights activist, and a social reformer.

Her activism was first ignited by her discovery that male colleagues at the Nine Partners Quaker Boarding School she taught at were being paid three times what females doing the same work were paid. In protest she left, along with her future husband James, and moved to Philadelphia.
There she would marry, raise six children, and become a Friends minister. She also travelled and spoke extensively on issues of justice and human dignity, led a boycott of cotton cloth, cane sugar, and other slavery-produced goods, and co-founded the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society.

And she was utterly fearless.

As an angry mob began destroying the building where the Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women was being held in 1837, Mott defiantly linked arms with black and white delegates and led a procession out of the hall and through the street. And when the mob found where she lived, and threatened to burn her house down as well, Mott calmly sat in her parlor and called their bluffs.

Before and during the Civil War, she also hid runaway slaves in her home.

Mott demonstrated courage as well in confronting her own abolitionist community. In 1840 she was one of six women elected to be delegates to the World’s Anti-Slavery Convention in London, England. But before the convention began the men voted to exclude the women from participating, and forced them to sit in a segregated area. The excuse given was that abolitionist leaders didn’t want the issue of women’s rights to distract from the issue of ending slavery. Still, Mott had enough of an impact to earn the nickname “the lioness of the convention” by journalists present.

Fundamentally Lucretia Mott understood that one justice issue could not in good conscience be separated from another. And she would spend the next forty years challenging inconsistencies and prejudices in political and religious circles alike. Her list of causes included full citizenship and voting rights for blacks, women’s political, economic, and marital rights, and the peace movement. She also served as a mentor to Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (with whom she founded the American Equal Rights Association).

Like few before her, and few sense Lucretia Mott practiced what she preached. And this country is a far better place for it.

She is a hero you should know.

Heroes you should know: Jerome Lejeune

"A society that kills its children has lost its soul and its hope..." -Dr. Jerome Lejeune


Dr. Jerome Lejeune (June 13, 1926 – April 3, 1994) was a French pediatrician and geneticist, renowned in the field of medicine for discovering a link between intellectual disabilities and chromosomal irregularities.

In the early 1950’s Lejeune began researching Down syndrome in an effort to find its cause. He first discovered that children with Down syndrome have anomalies in their fingerprints, and the lines on their palms. From there, studying tissue samples, he confirmed that these irregularities were due to chromosomal “accidents.” And by 1957 Lejeune had demonstrated that these children have an extra chromosome.

His discovery revolutionized the field of genetics, and paved the way for new therapeutic treatments. Lejeune went on to identify several other syndromes related to chromosomal abnormalities as well. For his trailblazing work, he was celebrated internationally, and in 1964 Dr. Lejeune was named the first chair of human genetics at the Paris School of Medicine.

He always saw research and treatment as inseparable, and his ultimate goal was to alleviate suffering while celebrating the dignity of life. Thus, Lejeune was mortified to see that his genetic discoveries had slowly begun leading to the termination of pregnancies involving special needs children. In critiquing his own profession, he wrote:

“They brandish chromosomal racism like the flag of freedom…. That this rejection of medicine—of the whole biological brotherhood that binds the human family—should be the only practical application of our knowledge of Trisomy 21 is beyond heartbreaking….”

Dr. Lejeune’s answer to what he considered the grave misuse of his findings was to become a passionate advocate for the dignity of all human beings, born and unborn. He would dedicate the rest of his life, and his immense genius, to speaking, writing, and organizing in support of a culture of life.

Jerome Lejeune died on Easter Sunday 1994.

The Catholic Church has opened his cause for canonization as a saint, and given him the title “Servant of God.”

Dr. Jerome Lejeune was a groundbreaking doctor and scientist who was profoundly committed to supporting human life, in all its complexity.

He is a hero you should know.

Heroes You Should Know: Liviu Librescu

“If you are limited, then you miss the freedom. And I—I would like to be fluid. I would like to be free as a bird and fly everywhere.” -Liviu Librescu


Liviu Librescu (August 18, 1930 – April 16, 2007) had faced death many times before his final minutes of life on the campus of Virginia Tech University. He had survived the Nazis, the Holocaust, and relocation to a labor camp. And he had endured over thirty years of Communist oppression in his native Romania. In between, he'd earned a Ph.D., and become a scientist and research professor in the area of aeroelasticity and aerodynamics.

Because he refused to swear allegiance to the Communist party, Librescu’s career stalled in Romania. But in 1978 he was finally allowed to immigrate to Israel with his wife and two sons, where he continued to teach Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering. In 1985, Dr. Librescu left for Blacksburg, Virginia on a sabbatical, accepting a teaching position in Engineering Science and Mechanics at Virginia Tech University. He would eventually decide to make this move permanent, and for over two decades his professional life continued to blossom. Dr. Librescu lectured, conducted research, had hundreds of articles published, along with scores of book chapters and monographs, and served on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals. He was reknowned internationally, and was a beloved teacher and a devoted family man.

On the morning of April 16, 2007, crazed student Seung-Hui Cho entered the engineering building where Dr. Librescu was lecturing. As gunfire and screaming echoed in the hallway, Librescu ordered the students to exit the room through windows. Meanwhile, he headed for the door, and threw his body in front of it just as the gunman was attempting to enter. By blocking the entrance to the classroom, the professor kept Cho out long enough for twenty-two of his twenty-three students to escape without harm. Librescu was shot five times in the process, and died on the scene.

Ironically, the Virginia Tech massacre occurred on Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah). But perhaps there could be no more fitting day for Librescu’s martyrdom.

Dr. Liviu Librescu is a model of courage, of industriousness, of generosity, of love---and worthy of study. He lived a life of significance, which his death only confirmed.

He is a hero you should know.

An aerial view: The virtue of humor

"Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it."
-Bill Cosby


When we ask mapquest for directions, why do you think we’re provided an aerial view of our search? Why aren’t we just given a read-out of the streets and freeways we’ll be looking for? Afterall, we’re driving or walking to our destination, not helicoptering.

Why do you think we get the sky-cam view of the action when watching a movie, or the news, or the nature channel? Isn’t it sufficient to see things from ground-level?

It’s about perspective. There’s something centering, even comforting, about seeing the big picture of where you are, and where you’re headed. Perspective is not just helpful, it’s life giving.

And it’s also a good place to begin understanding humor as a virtue.

Humor as a virtue is the ability to see the big picture, the aerial view of life, and then translate it into a message that is both enjoyable and illuminating. It can take the form of a reflection or joke, or it can be as simple as a word, a facial expression, or even a sound. (My grandfather, when he sensed that he’d gotten a bit preachy, would make a noise that sounded like hot air being released from a balloon.).

Humor as a virtue opens people up.


Humor as a virtue reveals what is true, but in a way that unburdens.


Humor as a virtue encourages people to grow up by not taking themselves too seriously.


Humor as a virtue uses laughter and levity to transcend pain, not cause it.


Humor as a virtue grows from humility, wisdom, and charity.

But humor is rarely considered as even a potential virtue.

Part of this is due to the fact that it’s commonly mistaken for silly-ness. And although there’s a time and place for silly-ness…for clown noses, cartoons, and The Three Stooges…it hardly qualifies as transformative.

However the greater obstacle to seeing humor as a virtue and utilizing it’s positive potential is that too often it’s used as a weapon. A person will gain perspective on the human condition, on the woundedness and weaknesses of others, and then attack for popularity, for influence, or for revenge.

What a wasted opportunity.

"Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it."

Life is difficult. It’s full of pressure, and disappointment, and struggle. Even the most fortunate have these realities to contend with. The virtue of humor makes life lighter…more enjoyable. It gives us perspective and insight about what we can change, what we can’t change, and how to find life in laughter whatever the circumstances.

We need to take it seriously.

Questions for reflection:


Do you think humor is more often used as a virtue or a weapon?
Who models the virtue of humor for you? How?
What is one thing you can begin doing to practice the virtue of humor?

Mothering Day

"The mother's heart is the child's school-room."
-Henry Ward Beecher

Mother's Day is a holy day indeed, a blessed day, a precious day. It is a day we should all celebrate if for no other reason...and there is not a more fundamental reason...than that our mothers chose life. We can and should be forever grateful for this. There is no greater gift.

But on Mother's Day I believe we should also celebrate ALL women who mother, for motherhood is certainly more than a physical act. We miss the true essence of motherhood if we reduce this sacred role to something wholly explained by obstetrics.

Those who mother bear hope.

Those who mother invest in the future.

Those who mother protect innocence.

Those who mother guide the vulnerable.

Those who mother teach about all that really matters.

Those who mother sacrifice for the Good.

Those who mother love and let go...and still love.

Happy Mother's Day, Happy Mothering Day, to all women who carry life, birth life, and nurture life in every way. "Thank you" is a good starting point, but not nearly enough!

Question for reflection: Who has mothered you?

Becoming a hero: The virtue of courage

“The world's battlefields have been in the heart chiefly; more heroism has been displayed in the household and the closet, than on the most memorable battlefields in history.”
-Henry Ward Beecher


Clark Poling (a Dutch Reformed minister), George Fox (a Methodist minister), Alexander Goode (a Jewish rabbi), and John Washington (a Catholic priest) became fast friends in 1942 while attending a training school for Chaplains at Harvard College. In January 1943 all four men embarked for England together on the USAT Dorchester, along with 900 soldiers.

On February 2nd, the Dorchester was torpedoed by a German submarine and immediately began to sink. The four chaplains worked as a team to try and get the soldiers into life jackets and onto lifeboats. When the life jackets ran out, the four chaplains took theirs off and gave them to soldiers waiting, but kept working to get the men off the ship. Within 27 minutes of being hit, the Dorchester sank, carrying 672 men down with it. It was reported by survivors that the four chaplains were last seen together on the deck, arms linked, praying as the ship went down.

Here is a jaw-dropping example of the virtue of courage. And this story, as do all stories of extraordinary heroism, shakes us and reminds us of who we can be. Obviously this is worthwhile. But there is also a risk in telling the kind of stories that inspire books, and movies, and songs. They can leave the 99% of us who will never find ourselves on a sinking ship or a bloody battlefield, or in a burning building, or a hijacked airplane with a distorted understanding of courage---and heroism.

“The world's battlefields have been in the heart chiefly; more heroism has been displayed in the household and the closet, than on the most memorable battlefields in history.”

We must recognize that there is the extraordinary in the ordinary!

If we wait for epic moments to begin practicing courage, and to reveal the hero in each one of us, this great big world of ours is going to go ahead and finish falling apart. Because there is no goodness, no “doing the right thing,” without courage.

Courage is about withstanding hardships for the greater good, resisting temptation for the greater good, and then taking positive action for the greater good. It challenges you to be bigger than you’d otherwise be, and to en-courage others to step up as well. It is found at the testing point of every virtue.

Yes, soldiers, and first responders, and martyrs can be wonderful examples of courage and heroism. But so too can:

-Parents who resist the temptation to stop parenting prematurely

-Teens who resist negative peer pressure, and do what’s right instead of what’s popular

-Children who choose to not bully, and then stand with the one being bullied

-Employees who choose not to gossip


-Spouses who choose to remain faithful in good times and bad


-Friends who are willing to speak the truth in love to one another

Each of us has the ability to practice courage everyday, in little and big ways. We don’t have to go looking for opportunities either, we just need to be paying attention

Because in those opportunities each of us has the chance, no the responsibility, to be a hero.

Questions for reflection:
Do you want to be a hero?
Who models the virtue of courage for you? How?
What is one thing you can begin doing to practice the virtue of courage?

No and yes: The virtue of availability

“God does not begin by asking our ability, only our availability, and if we prove our dependability, He will increase our capability.”
-Neal A. Maxwell

Do you know the name Irena Sendler? She was a social worker, a member of the Polish underground, and personally responsible for saving 2,500 Jewish children during the Nazi occupation of Poland.

In 1939, 450,000 Jews were rounded up in Warsaw by the Nazis and crammed into a tiny section of the city, behind seven foot high walls. This was the beginning of the “purge”, and Sendler knew that time was precious. As the head of the children’s bureau of Zegota, a social service program responsible for monitoring the threat of typhus in this newly established ghetto, she was given unlimited access by the Nazis in order to insure “sanitary conditions.”

What the Nazis didn’t realize was that Zegota was also the cover for an underground resistance movement committed to saving Jews from death, and Sendler was at the heart of this effort. From 1939 to 1943, using health inspections as an excuse, she entered the ghetto again and again with the roughly thirty volunteers she’d assembled, and smuggle infants and children out; in coffins, burlap sacks, tool cases, wrapped packages, and even beneath the floor boards of an ambulance.

And as parents entrusted her with their most precious treasures, Sendler asked for the names. For safety she fabricated new identities for the children, but wanted to make sure their original identities were not lost. She buried this list of names in a glass jar, under a tree in her backyard in case she was arrested.

In 1943, the Gestapo did finally catch Sendler. She was imprisoned, tortured, and sentenced to death. However she was able to escape, and went into hiding. As soon as the war ended, she dug up the jar, grabbed the list, and went to work trying to re-connect the children she’d saved with their families.

Irena Sendler understood that no one is guaranteed another tomorrow. She learned to be very focused on who she served, sacrificed, and loved. And she did so heroically. This is why she’s an example of the virtue of availability…for all time.
Nothing is more fundamental than relationships. Everything flows from them; life, love, meaning, and purpose. And the virtue of availability serves and safeguards this broad truth.

But availability is also strategic. It helps you understand your own limits and boundaries as you give to others, recognizing that the “good” can be the enemy of the “best.”

Our hurting world is full of people in need, people who are worthy of love, people who will pull on you. But attempting to be there for anyone and everyone, on demand, all the time, is pathological not virtuous. Thus, if you want to have the greatest impact you must make decisions about who most needs your time…and who most deserves your time. This may sound cold and un-caring to some, but it is reality nonetheless.

Availability as a virtue tells you that you must be able to say “no” in order to truly say “yes.”

Questions for reflection:
Is it difficult for you to say ‘no’ when people ask you for something?
Who models the virtue of availability for you? How?
What is one thing you can begin doing to practice the virtue of availability?

Bach in the metro: The virtue of presence

“Presence is more than just being there.”
-Malcolm S. Forbes

A couple of years ago the Washington Post decided to conduct a social experiment in order to explore perceptions of, and appreciation for, beauty. First, they chose an unexpected place (L'Enfant Plaza in the D.C. Metro station) at an inconvenient time (a Friday in January at 7:51 in the morning). Then they asked a physically non-descript violinist to set up shop next to a trash can, and play. And play he did. For forty five minutes six pieces by Bach were performed for 1,097 unsuspecting commuters as they passed by.

But few paid attention to the young musician wearing blue jeans, a long white t-shirt, and a baseball cap. Nor did they seem to be moved by the beautiful music he played. Just another day. Only six people stopped for longer than a few seconds, and none for more than a moment. Twenty people gave him money but most of them barely broke their pace as they dropped what would amount to $32 in the open violin case. And when the man finished his concert, there was no applause and no recognition of the unique gift that had just been offered except for one woman who mentioned to the performer she’d seen him once before.

The violinist was the internationally acclaimed virtuoso Joshua Bell, playing a 3.5 million dollar violin made by Antonio Stradivari in 1713. Two nights before Bell had played this same violin for a sold-out audience in Boston.

Afterwards, the newspaper seemed surprised by the responses of the commuters. Even if the time and place were less than ideal, Bell was incognito, and his instrument underappreciated, they assumed the impact would be greater.

In fairness, I don’t know if the Post could truly judge whether or not the passers-by actually perceived and appreciated beauty. Maybe on the fly some of them did. But it was Friday morning and they were trying to get to work on time. They had real deadlines to meet, and probably not a lot of free time.

However, we do know that out of 1,097 people only 6 stopped for longer than a few seconds…1,097…six people…a few seconds. And if this many people can be overwhelmingly not present to something as wonderful as a Joshua Bell concert, regardless of place or time, what are the chances they’d miss something more subtle? A glance, a sigh, a quiver.

But we’d be different. We’d stop, and listen, and appreciate, and be present to the man and the moment. We’re “present” most moments, right? Everyday, as I watch people texting while driving, and updating Facebook statuses during meetings and lectures, and tweeting while on a date, I wonder.

And I’m as guilty as anyone. I constructed most of this essay in my mind while sitting in Church Sunday…during the sermon.

“Presence is more than just being there.”

Presence as a virtue is about emotional and spiritual space, not just physical space. Presence as a virtue is about being sensitive to what’s going on around you, and not just in you.

Presence as a virtue is about successfully resisting the temptation to make multi-tasking a way-of-being in the world.

Life is L’Enfant Plaza in the D.C. metro station on a Friday morning.
We are the early morning commuters.
Joshua Bell’s concert is the call to practice the virtue of presence.

Will we stop and listen to the music, and the message it carries?

Questions for reflection:
How could the virtue of presence make a difference in your life?
Who models the virtue of presence for you? How?
What is one thing you can begin doing to practice the virtue of presence?

Heaven and hell: The virtue of hope

“Ever more people today have the means to live, but no meaning to live for.”
-Viktor Frankl

Dante, in his Inferno, wrote that the gate leading into Hell carries the inscription, “Abandon all hope, you who enter.” Indeed life without hope is hell. But can hope be found in the midst of hell? I’m talking about the here-and-now, in this world, and this life, in the midst of suffering, and pain, and despair that threaten to rob one’s life of meaning? Can hope be found when all that matters most seems lost, or in real danger of being lost?

To fully understand the virtue of hope, one must recognize that “hell” is actually the best place to find it.

In Man’s Search for Meaning, Dr. Viktor Frankl described an intimate moment that speaks to this point. Early one morning he was marching with fellow prisoners inside the concentration camp of Auschwitz when he began thinking of his wife. He imagined her smile, her reassuring facial expressions, and a dialogue they might have if they were together. And he suddenly realized that whether she was in fact alive or dead, at that moment he was changed. He had connected with something transcendent, and the hope it inspired lifted him above the horror of his present situation and gave him a reason to go on.

Surrounded by death, Frankl discovered that which death cannot swallow up.

Hope is what makes life worth living. It is the virtue that confronts cynicism and despair. It is the anchoring conviction that there is meaning in life, and it is the force that urges you to find it…and keep finding it. But hope is more than this.

Hope is grounded in the reality that in the eternal battle of good versus evil, good will win. In the end, things will make sense. If optimism is lighting a candle in the darkness, hope is the knowing that whether the candle goes out or not the dawn will eventually come.

It may not look that way sometimes, in fact it may not look that way many times. And if one only considers the present state of the world, and passing circumstances, disillusionment and fear can set up permanent residency in the heart.

Bad things do happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people, and life is not always fair. Hope does not deny this reality, but it does challenge the belief that this reality needs to be final and ultimate.

Do you believe this? Do you believe in your heart that good is more powerful than evil, that love is greater than hate, and that death doesn’t have the last word? And are you moved to act? I pray you are.

Because the ongoing search for meaning and purpose is essential to being fully alive. It is only in this search that one finds reasons to hope, and thus reasons to go on.

Heaven and hell do begin in this life. Hope is the virtue that decides which one you’ll choose.

Questions for reflection:
Where do you find meaning and purpose?
Who models the virtue of hope for you? How?
What is one thing you can begin doing to practice the virtue of hope?

Five black notes: The virtue of accommodation

“I once was lost, but now am found; was blind but now I see.”
-John Newton

Wintley Phipps, pastor, reknowned vocal artist, and founder of the U.S. Dream Academy recently made the observation that virtually all great “Negro spirituals” can be played on the five black notes of the piano. This “slave scale” was the basis of West African sorrow chants, routinely sung by slaves in captivity.

Phipps goes on to make the connection that arguably the greatest of all “White spirituals,” Amazing Grace, can also be played on the five black notes. Accident? No way. Before John Newton wrote this hymn that both acknowledges human brokenness and celebrates divine mercy he spent years as a slave ship captain. He most certainly heard this sorrow chant, again and again as he sailed back and forth from Africa to England with his human cargo…and he took this melody in, what it conveyed about pain and dignity, and it went deep. So deep that Newton had a profound and lasting conversion, became an Anglican priest, and spent the rest of his days as a powerful voice in the Abolitionist movement.

The slave scale became the melody of his hymn, and his life.

Much is made of the psychological material we all carry with us from losses, traumas, and mistakes; fears, biases, resentments, blind spots.

But what of the material we take in that changes us for the good, turns us toward healing and wholeness, compels us to serve others?

Everything can be useful; the good, the bad, and the ugly. This is the motto of the virtue of accommodation.

The virtue of accommodation is practiced when you take in new information that challenges old information, and are moved to “update” the files you’ve stored in your heart and your mind; your outdated ways of looking at the world, self, and others. And you become a better person.

New people speak to you, new struggles speak to you, new stories speak to you…maybe even a West African sorrow chant will speak to you. And in this new information you hear a deeper truth, a truth that illuminates where you are and where you need to go. Of course “new” doesn’t necessarily mean “better.” That’s where accommodation as a virtue comes in.

The virtue of accommodation breaks down barriers in our minds and hearts, and this can sometimes be painful. Many would like to continue on the well-worn, rutted path of familiarity and status-quo: “I’ve always done it this way,” “This is what I know,” “People might get angry.”

So much of growing up is about knowing what you need to hold onto and what you need to let go of; what works for you, and what is getting in the way of your work. Accommodation is essential to this process.

“I once was lost but now am found; was blind but now I see.”

John Newton practiced the virtue of accommodation. He opened up to new information, to new and deeper truth, took it in…and found himself. This is possible for us too, every day.

An amazing grace indeed.

I wish you all a most blessed Holy Week.

Questions for reflection:
Why does the virtue of accommodation matter?
Who models the virtue of accommodation for you? How?
What is one thing you can begin doing to practice the virtue of accommodation?

An unmarked grave: The virtue of zeal

“Do now, do now what you will wish to have done when your moment comes to die.”
-St. Angela Merici

One of the dangers in writing about virtue is that in an effort to bring this all-important concept to life, other-worldly figures are used as models. This can leave one feeling more than a little inadequate, and doubtful about ever being truly “virtuous.” So, in honor of what would have been his 100th year of life, I present my grandfather Wesley Hugh Gates. He was not perfect, he was not a genius, he did not go to church daily and pray hourly, no school was named after him, and he never won the Nobel peace prize. If you saw him on the street you wouldn’t look twice, might not even look once. He was pretty typical, except for the way he cared.

When he was six years-old, my grandfather was awakened one morning by hammering. He took his little brother by the hand and together they walked into the kitchen to find their father building a coffin. My gandfather’s fifteen year-old sister had died in the middle of the night. She had been sick with the measles, and then she was gone. The family buried her in an unmarked grave because they didn’t have the money for a grave marker. And they never spoke of her again.

Of course my grandfather never forgot about his sister, and the way his family could not properly honor her life. But he knew he needed to do more than just remember. So when he was old enough, he returned to that old country graveyard in eastern Oklahoma, sifted through the burial records, and found her grave. He then paid for a proper marker for her. Why? Because it was the right thing to do.

Zeal comes from the Latin word for “eager.” It’s not about crazy religiosity, or intolerance. It’s about an eagerness to do the right thing, not because you should but because you can!

Zeal is an awareness of, a caring for, and a commitment to fulfilling the duties and obligations one owes others. Duties and obligations due others? Really?

I don’t think there’s a sickness that better describes our culture than sloth, that spiritual laziness that numbs us, feeds self-obsession and selfishness and effectively isolates us from others…and from our authentic selves.

Zeal does to sloth what a lit blow-torch does to tissue paper.

“Do now, do now what you will wish to have done when your moment comes to die.”

My grandfather cared in exceptional ways about doing the right thing by others, and for others. He raised my mother to live with zeal, and she raised me in that same spirit. And my life is infinitely richer as a result.

I am grateful for my mother, and for my grandfather, and for that dusty cemetary where a young girl was quietly laid to rest in an unmarked grave.

Questions for reflection:
What do you owe others?
Who models the virtue of zeal for you? How?
What is one thing you can begin doing to practice the virtue of zeal?

Letting go: The virtue of forgiveness

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
-Lewis B. Smedes

During the occupation of Holland, an exemplary woman named Corrie Ten Boom and her equally amazing family joined the Dutch underground, and hid Jews from the Nazis. They did so by building a secret room at the top of their home, and for almost two years dozens of men, women, and children were sheltered from death there. Eventually, though, the Ten Booms were betrayed by a neighbor and imprisoned. Corrie and her sister Betsie were sent to the concentration camp at Ravensbruck. Corrie would survive the hell, but Betsie would not. Corrie’s response? To preach about forgiveness...everywhere...especially in Germany.

So it was not coincidental that Corrie was speaking at a Sunday church service in post-war Munich in 1947. She had just finished addressing the congregation and was leaving when she noticed a man headed directly toward her. She knew him immediately as one of the prison guards who had stood watch in the processing area of the camp, by where the women entered for their initial showers. In The Hiding Place she writes that the man smiled and thanked her for her message, and then reached out his hand and asked for her forgiveness. In that split second, all the anger, trauma, shame, fear, and memories of Ravensbruck came rushing back, and she froze. Naturally. Most of us wouldn’t have had the courage to even go back to Germany, let alone preach about forgiveness there. Corrie was already heroic, for God’s sake.

But to be asked to forgive any Nazi, let alone one who had personally persecuted her and her sister? Are you serious? The former guard didn’t remember Corrie, but she couldn’t forget him. And go figure, she didn’t exactly feel like forgiving this particular man on this particular Sunday.

But Corrie realized that the virtue of forgiveness is not about feeling, and does not pick and choose its recipients. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and it has to be offered to all. She knew that if she was not able to forgive this man, she would always remain a prisoner…free from Ravensbruck but not from the pain, the evil, the cruelty of Ravensbruck. So with tears running down her cheeks she took his hand in hers, and forgave him. And all the angels in Heaven bowed in admiration.

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”

Forgiveness is a grace that can happen all at once, but more often than not it’s a process-miracle that happens in stages. And the more it’s practiced the more it becomes a virtue, and not just an isolated victory for good. Forgiveness does not ever ask you to forget, but it does ask you to let go; let go of any chance of sweet revenge on another, or just repayment by another, or proper response from another. Because in the end, forgiveness is not about the other…it’s about you. And you forgive because it’s good for you.

Forgiveness is not easy. In fact, it’s arguably the most difficult virtue of all to practice, let alone acquire. But ask yourself how much you want to love, how free you’d like to be, and how prison life is really working for you?

Questions for reflection:
Are you good at forgiving?
Who models the virtue of forgiveness for you? How?
What is one thing you can begin doing to practice the virtue of forgiveness?

Working out: The virtue of industriousness

“We work to become, not to acquire.”
-Elbert Hubbard

Bill Porter was born with cerebral palsy, in a world that is forever underestimating the power of the human spirit. Fortunately, his parents did not. They valued their son’s dignity, as well as the dignity of work. So when the time came for him to get a job Porter got busy looking. He never considered going on disability a viable option, although he certainly met the medical requirements. He had great difficulty walking, struggled with chronic pain, and spoke with a speech impediment.

His greatest obstacle, though, was not his physical health, but the perceptions of would-be employers. So after years of hearing the message that he was unemployable, he naturally chose to be a door-to-door salesman. I kid you not.

The Watkins Company in Portland, Oregon gave him a chance, and that’s all he needed. For forty years Porter walked seven to ten miles a day, five days a week, knocking on doors, cold-calling potential customers, selling a variety of home care products…for forty years. That in itself is worthy of celebration; the fact that he became the company’s top salesman is icing on the cake.

Bill Porter will tell you on his website that at almost 80 years-old now he is no longer able to walk his route, but is still working and growing his business thanks to the internet.

There’s this strange confusion that exists for many about work; that it is a curse, a burden we must all bear until we finally reach retirement and can afford to stop working. But the virtue of industriousness redefines (or better, reclaims) what work really is.

Industriousness says that work is about starting and finishing tasks with diligence. With diligence? At first this sounds a bit compulsive, but consider what diligence means; “to love, to appreciate, to choose after careful consideration and attention.” Love through your work, appreciate through your work, and carefully consider and attend through your work.

The virtue of industriousness is about working to become, not just to acquire. And the virtue of industriousness insures that our work, in our professional lives and in our personal lives, will give us a sense of dignity and true self-worth.

Bill Porter did not have to “work,” in the narrowest sense of the word. He could have sat at home and collected disability checks. He had several built-in excuses. But he understood that he needed to work, not to survive but to thrive. So do we all. Work is the arena where all virtues can be developed, where we can change, and where we can change the world.

If you’re seeing work as a 40 hour a week grind, and part of a 40 year prison sentence, consider the industrious life of Bill Porter. And then truly get to work!

Questions for reflection:
What does “work” mean to you?
Who models the virtue of industriousness for you? How?
What is one thing you can begin doing to practice the virtue of industriousness?

Sticks and stones: The virtue of compassion

"Compassionate action involves working with ourselves as much as working with others.”
-Pema Chodron

I just finished reading Rush Limbaugh’s apology to Sandra Fluke for calling her a “slut.” She is the law student who recently attempted to advocate for affordable health care coverage of contraception, he is the bombastic talk-show host who blew an opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue about an important issue.

I’m glad he apologized, even if it was probably motivated by fleeing sponsors and growing public outrage. I wish ALL public figures, regardless of political affiliation, were held equally accountable for using hurtful, abusive, demeaning language (I’m thinking now of Bill Maher, who sits at the other end of the political spectrum and is equally reckless in his verbal tirades). Being intentionally hurtful is not a political issue, it’s a human issue.

Words matter. The average adult speaks 16,000 of them each and every day. Sixteen thousand! That’s a lot of talking, and a lot of communicating…and the two are not the same.

We speak the words, and we hear the words, but do we attend to the messages carried by the words; messages that build up, or tear down. And are we aware of how our words impact the world around us. One doesn’t need to have a radio or television show to feed a culture of cruelty or nurture a culture of compassion.

Compassion, literally translated, means “to suffer with.” Compassion as a virtue means that one suffers with, and then does something meaningful about trying to alleviate the suffering of another.

And choosing care-fully the words we use every day to describe others, express our thoughts and feelings to others, and work toward understanding others is a very good place to start practicing compassion. Because we cannot, will not, begin to meaningfully care about others if we are using words that distance ourselves from them…and from ourselves.

The natural response when we sense the pain of another is to try and help. But this will only happen if our own anger, grief, guilt, and shame hasn’t backed up on us. To be compassionate, to get close to another’s pain, we must also be addressing our own pain.

People who attack with words are aware (just enough) of how much hurt is inside them to be scared witless. And out of fear they choose hurtful words to gain a false sense of control, of power, of superiority. All it costs is decency.

“Compassionate action involves working with ourselves as much as working with others.”

“Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” What a terrible, dangerous denial of reality that little rhyme is. Words used as weapons absolutely hurt you and me, and they hurt our culture.

And if we aren’t willing to control what comes out of our mouths, we won’t be able to offer much from our hearts.

Questions for reflection:
How have you used words to hurt?
Who models the virtue of compassion for you? How?
What is one thing you can begin doing to practice the virtue of compassion?

When Wright is wrong: The virtue of tolerance

“Tolerance of intolerance is cowardice.”
-Ayaan Hirsi Ali

I received an invitation last week to attend a lecture at my former seminary given by Dr. Jeremiah Wright. This is the same Jeremiah Wright who was at one time Barack Obama’s pastor. But after years of listening to the anti-semitic, race-baiting, fear- mongering, shockingly insensitive remarks the President was finally moved to criticize Wright, and even resign his membership at the church, saying he was “saddened” and “outraged” by Wright’s behavior. Wright predictably blamed Obama’s decision on the Jews.

I responded to the invitation with an email asking for clarification about the nature and intention of the seminary. What was the purpose of bringing Dr. Wright on campus? How, I wondered, was this beneficial to anyone outside of Dr. Wright? Was he going to apologize at the outset for his years of intolerance? Was he going to be challenged about his teachings, and the consequences of his hate speech by his peers? Was he going to be held accountable at all? Or would he receive a tacit endorsement by the school in the form of a bully pulpit and a stipend.

I’m still waiting for a response. But whatever the answer, the whole incident has got me thinking about the virtue of tolerance.

Tolerance as a virtue is deeply connected to freedom, and defending the rights of the under-represented. Tolerance has rightly been identified with freedom of speech, freedom to dissent, freedom of the press, and religious freedoms.

Historically, intolerance has been about the powerful crushing, silencing, oppressing those who do not have as much power, economically, politically, religiously. And this threat certainly remains. But a more subtle yet equally deangerous threat to tolerance is growing in this politically correct, morally insecure society of ours; passivity.

Too often nowadays, what passes as “tolerance” is in reality a lazy acceptance of bad behavior. Maybe this is connected to guilt from past abuses against tolerance. Maybe this is connected to fear of being branded “intolerant.” Maybe it’s connected to an indifference about anything beyond one’s comfort zone. Maybe it’s connected to the false belief that progressive equals permissive. Maybe it’s all of the above. But the result is tolerance as a personality trait, instead of a virtue; a way of “getting along” instead of “getting better.”

“Tolerance of intolerance is cowardice.”

Is there anything you can’t, or more accurately shouldn’t tolerate? Is there any behavior you’d consider a serious enough threat to goodness that you simply cannot stay silent?

Is freedom only about what one can do, or is it also about what one should do? And what responsibility do you have to society?

You may have guessed by now that I am not a fan of Jeremiah Wright. I don’t like his angry, paranoid worldview. I don’t like his assaultive, abusive style. And I don’t like the ways he plays on the deepest fears of human beings. But the virtue of tolerance says he has the right to speak his mind and use his freedom however he chooses within the bounds of the law, and that this right should be protected whether I like it or not.

What tolerance does not say is that his malice should go unchallenged by reason, and truth, and love. And that his message of fear should be met with a shrug.

Tolerance is a virtue that protects against abuses of power. But it’s greatest enemy is weakness.

Question for reflection: Where do you see the virtue of tolerance being compromised?

Finding the middle way: The virtue of moderation

“Moderation is the silken string running through the pearl chain of all virtues.”
-Joseph Hall

I read the painful news this week that an 18 year-old Tibetan Buddhist nun had set herself on fire, in protest of China’s policies toward Tibet. Three months ago another nun from the same monastery in the Sichuan Province set herself on fire as well, and died. In the past year, over a dozen Tibetan Buddhist nuns, monks, and lay people have self-immolated resulting in eleven deaths. And for what? The leader of the Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama himself, asked that very question. Certainly the Chinese government is unmoved, and the response from the world is some combination of pity, confusion, and revulsion.

The young woman undoubtedly believed her radical act would bring attention to the cause she’d dedicated her life to. And for 15 minutes it will. But it’s much more like the kind of attention generated by a car accident or a mudslide, than the kind of attention that brings good. Only virtue does that.

Extremism is not virtuous. Intentional self-injury is not virtuous. Desperation is not virtuous.

Virtue does call one to live radically, to live counter-culturally, to live a life of self-sacrifice. But audacity, courage, religion, zeal, and all the other virtues this young woman was attempting to live out cease being virtues if separated from the virtue of moderation.

Moderation is the silken string running through the pearl chain of all virtues.

Moderation is about balance; balance at work and balance at play, balance with self and balance with others, balance with food and balance with drink. It teaches one about healthy self-control and gentleness. It is the middle way, guiding the pursuit of goodness while avoiding extremes. It is the virtue that channels passion, and protects dignity.

And of course moderation is needed just as much in the West as it is in the East. Because these are desperate times everywhere, and in times of desperation people can easily lose their bearings. Their worlds get turned upside down, and in their pain and fear and anxiety they can make really poor choices.

See in yourself, at least something of that desperate 18 year-old nun in Tibet…the potential to hurt yourself and those around you in your struggle to find balance, and manage pain, and even do some good.

Practice moderation; it’s truly a radical statement.

Question for reflection: Do you feel like your life is balanced?

Crack pot: The virtue of sincerity

“Ring the bells that still can ring,
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything.
That’s how the light gets in.”
-Leonard Cohen


You know the saying that the cover-up is worse than the crime? This was certainly true in the world of pottery-making, in ancient Corinth. Pottery was big business and there was fierce competition for the almighty drachma.

The process always began with the same routine: The craftsman would form the clay into pottery, then fire the pottery in a kiln, and finally examine the finished product by holding it up to the light to look for any cracks that might have occurred in the firing. If none were found, the pottery was good to sell as “clean, authentic, high quality.” If cracks were found, the damaged pottery was supposed to be thrown away, and the process begun again.

However, less reputable pottery makers more interested in the bottom line then in being honest would take a different path. They’d notice the cracks that had formed during the baking process. But instead of disposing of the bad pottery, they’d fill in the cracks with wax, and then paint over the wax to further hide the imperfections.

To distinguish themselves, and the integrity of their product, the honest potters would hang a sign at the entrance of their shops that read, “Sincerus,” which literally means “without wax” This promised the customers that the handiwork was well-done, and that imperfections had not been covered up with wax and paint. The authentic pottery cost more because more had gone into its creation. But for those looking for quality and a greater long-term return on their investment, it was well worth it.

Sincerus.

Sincerity has always been about purity of intention, and trustworthiness, and genuineness. And like anything that is valauble, it will cost you.

Sincerity asks you to value truth more than appearances, so if you’re serious about acquiring it you’ll need to follow the example of the honest potter. Take the time to carefully examine your life in the light, and admit when you find cracks…dishonesty, pettiness, hypocrisy, envy, malice. And then start again.

Sincerity does not ask you to be perfect, but it does ask that you take responsibility for your imperfections, and do something about your imperfections. Care enough to walk the walk, and not just talk the talk.

I will stop cheating.

I will stop gossiping.

I will stop lying.

I will stop making promises I don’t intend to keep.

I will stop making excuses for my bad behavior.

Sincerus!

Practicing sincerity will take some effort, and discipline, and humility. And you won’t get it right away. Short term, it will feel easier to hide, cut corners, make excuses, and cover up the imperfections. But all this does is guarantee failure. Because in the pursuit of goodness, and integrity, and truth, the cover-up becomes the greater crime.

So leave the wax behind and decide to live differently… sincerely.


Question for reflection: What are the cracks in your life that you need to stop covering up, and start addressing with sincerity?

The blind side: The virtue of friendship

"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.”
-George Washington

If I asked you to name a quarterback who has played in the NFL, my guess is that even non-football fans could come up with someone: Joe Namath, Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Eli Manning. But how many of you could name the offensive left tackles who guarded these quarterbacks’ “blind sides.” Right.

That’s because, fair or not, the quarterback gets most of the glory. The responsibility to score points is literally in his hands, so most games are as well.

As the game is played, the quarterback takes the ball and drops back time and again, while looking downfield for an open receiver to pass to. And he looks, and looks, and looks...and all the while the left tackle stands between him and disaster, protecting him from the violent rush of players coming from behind him and wanting to crush him. The quarterback may get the attention, but he’d be picking up his teeth much more often than wins if someone didn’t have his back.

Michael Lewis highlights this truth in The Blind Side, a good book that became an inspiring movie. But the story of Michael Oher, the young man who goes from poster child for youth-at-risk to NFL star, is about a lot more than football.

Oher had all the physical gifts in the world; massive size, herculean strength, and eye-popping agility. Yet he would have been lost if the Tuohys, his adoptive family, hadn’t taken an active interest in him, continued investing love and care in him, and provided a safe environment where he could develop and grow. Through friendship they had his “blind side.”

Becoming a successful human being, which is not the same thing as becoming wealthy, famous, or powerful, is essentially about relationships. And at the heart of relationships is the virtue of friendship.

It takes a great deal to be a friend. Yet, the common perception continues to be that if you have fun with someone, you’re friends. If you have things in common with someone, you’re friends. If you’re attracted to someone, you’re friends. Friendships apparently demand about as much effort as clicking “accept” on a Facebook invitation.

This, of course, is a recipe for disaster.

“Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.”

Friendship, like any virtue, takes time to develop. It can and should include fun, and common interests, and attraction. But it’s about a lot more than that.

Friendship, true and personal connection that lasts, is always about giving and receiving; practicing and learning how to be trustworthy with another, how to be responsive with another, how to be caring with another, and how to be truthful with another.

But to really understand the virtue of friendship, begin by acting like an offensive left tackle and focus on the blind side coverage.

Question for reflection: Who’s got your back?

JoePa's final lesson: The virtue of reason

"Those who will not reason are bigots, those who cannot are fools, and those who dare not are slaves.”
-Lord Byron


Joe Paterno, beloved Hall of Fame football coach of Penn State University for 46 seasons and a living legend, died Sunday at the age of 85. He now rests in peace, but peace is the last thing those in the community that loved him best are experiencing.

This is odd to be saying about a man who had a remarkable record of success in most every way. “JoePa” was the all-time winningest coach in major college football, graduated an impressively high 78% of his players, and won multiple national championships. More importantly he was a family man (married for just short of fifty years, with five children and 17 grandchildren) and an exceptional mentor. He was also extraordinarily philanthropic, community minded, and a model example of how to run a major football program with integrity.

Which made the horrific revelations about child sexual abuse going on within his staff almost inconceivable.

In 2002, Paterno was told that one of his assistant coaches had allegedly sexually molested a young boy on the campus. At that time Paterno immediately fulfilled his legal duty by reporting what he had been told to his superiors. And then he went back to business as usual and apparently never addressed the issue again.

When the case finally went public three months ago and the university exploded in controversy, the Board of Trustees rightly concluded that Paterno could have, should have, done more. He should have been more assertive in pursuing the truth, in confronting the alleged molester, and in recognizing that protecting the innocent was the best way to protect the football program.

Although the investigation has not implicated him in any personal wrong-doing, Paterno’s disturbingly passive approach to the reported evil that went on behind his back cannot be excused, regardless of his age, his cultural background, or his lack of specific knowledge. He knew enough to have done more, and he admitted as much before his death.

Now the struggle to understand Joe Paterno’s complicated legacy is already stirring heated debate. And with any heated debate you have extremes; “pro-Joe” or “anti-Joe,” with very little in-between.

Enter the virtue of reason.

Reason is the ability to think calmly, deeply, and well; to take an issue and explore it from different angles while avoiding the mistake of drawing premature conclusions.

Reason helps us take our emotions, understand what they’re telling us, and then use them in a greater pursuit of objective truth.

Reason guides us in gathering and sorting through the relevant facts.

Reason is the process that leads to an increasingly complete understanding of the whole story.

Reason is an essential part of being human.

But reason is too often in short supply, particularly during times of great crisis, and pain, and fear, and anger because reason takes mental discipline, and moral courage, and a willingness to seek the middle way of integrity. His remarkable record of success notwithstanding, Joe Paterno failed to practice the virtue of reason when it came to confronting child sexual abuse. He serves as a case study.

But what people do with this coaching icon who in the final three months of his life became a tragic hero will be even more instructive. Some will want to airbrush and deny, while others will want to crucify and dismiss. However those who practice the virtue of reason will resist the temptation to veer toward one extreme or the other. They will choose instead to explore the complexities of the man and his legacy, and begin to draw valuable insights from this moral confusion.

And once more it will be shown that good really can come from anything.

Question for reflection: Do you think deeply and carefully?

Humming along: The virtue of perseverance

“Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.”
-Samuel Johnson

Dr. Wangari Muta Maathai was a force of nature. In her seventy-one remarkable years she was a champion of women’s rights (especially in her native Kenya), was a notable environmentalist, and even served as a member of parliament and assistant minister for environment and natural resources. Along the way, her husband divorced her because she was “too strong-minded for a woman" and he was thus "unable to control her". My hunch is that she said thank you!

In 2004 Maathai became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Wangari Muta Maathai had to fight for virtually everything she had, and suffered many losses. But she was never defeated! Not long before her death, she told a simple story that seemed to capture the spirit of her life, and the essence of perseverance. It goes something like this…

A large forest fire raged out of control, and all the animals were overwhelmed by its power. As it consumed more and more of their home all they could do was watch, frozen by fear and feelings of powerlessness. Only the hummingbird could respond. He was intent on doing something, anything to make a difference. So, with his little wings he quickly flew to the nearest watering hole and filled his tiny beak with water, flew back to the edge of the fire and dropped the water he’d been able to carry. Again and again he flew back and forth. After a little while, the larger animals said to him, “What do you think you can do with your little wings and little beak?” Not stopping to defend himself or his actions he answered as he passed them, “I can do the best I can.”

Could the hummingbird put out the fire by himself? Of course not. But he could do the best he could with what he had, and keep doing it, regardless of what the conventional wisdom had to say, regardless of the overwhelming odds, regardless of the fact that he worked alone. And could any of us hope to do more that that?

The virtue of perseverance is about having meaningful goals, and continuing to strive to achieve those goals in spite of difficulties. What is meaningful? Anything that helps you or others develop good habits...habits that lead to life, habits that lead to happiness, habits that lead to heaven.

Because all virtues are grounded in reality, if the goal I am striving for is not ultimately sustainable or worthy of pursuit, perseverence will reveal this. In other words, at some point the hummingbird probably concluded that the fire could not be stopped and it was time to redirect his energies, but he was the better for having tried. And maybe his fellow forest dwellers learned a thing or two about life from watching him work. Nothing was wasted.

The virtue of perseverance is not based on external success or perfection, but rather on consistency and right motivation.

“I will be the best person I can be by doing what I can consistently.” “I will be the best father I can be by doing what I can consistently.” “I will be the best plumber I can be by doing what I can consistently.” “I will be the best student I can be by doing what I can consistently.”

“Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.” What is great? Don’t give up when things get hard, and you’ll know soon enough!

Question for reflection: Where have you practiced perseverance, and where do you need to?

On bended knee: The virtue of obedience

“It is for each of us freely to choose whom we shall serve, and find in that obedience our freedom.”
-Mary Richards

As you may know Tim Tebow is presently the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. And he has quickly become a figure of controversy because of a particular way he expresses commitment to his deepest convictions.

At crucial moments during the game or just afterwards he will kneel, seemingly oblivious to those watching him. Head bowed and resting against a firmly clinched fist, eyes shut, he prays. And this simple act has become a full-blown phenomenon. “Tebowing” has even been recognized as a word in the English language by the Global Language Monitor as a result of its worldwide usage. It is celebrated by an army of admirers and mocked by more than a few cynics.

What’s going on here? What exactly is the big deal about a football player, even a professional football player on television, kneeling to pray? Why are so many so upset? His critics loudly claim that Tebow has commercialized his religion, that he is a phony, that he is manipulative, and that he is out of line. But the shrill tone of these judgments, and the disproportionate anger aimed at “Tebowing” suggests a much deeper process at work here. And the simple act of kneeling is the trigger.

What does kneeling symbolize? Obedience. And in a world where individualism has become a popular religion, where the “I” answers to no one, kneeling is sacrilegious. With “I” as supreme ruler kneeling is an undignified and immature act at best, and more probably a sign of pathology…of a weak “follower.” Self-actualized adults are supposed to outgrow obedience like footsie pajamas, belief in Santa Claus, and the need for parental approval. Right?

Not if we’re talking about obedience as a virtue. A virtue makes one better, and also makes the world better. So, sad people checking their minds and their dignity at the door, and blindly following some crazy, evil tyrant need not apply.
Obedience as a virtue is about freely, thoughtfully following orders. It may be connected to religious beliefs, but it may not involve religion at all. The virtue of obedience reminds us that we don’t know everything, that we could use a little guidance now and again, and that we must be accountable to something more than our egos. It challenges us to move past self-absorption toward humility and service to others. And in the practice of the virtue of obedience, we find our greatest freedom.

“It is for each of us freely to choose whom we shall serve, and find in that obedience our freedom.”

My hope is that at some point the people criticizing Tim Tebow will stop focusing on his kneeling, and start focusing on his life. Because how he expresses obedience isn’t nearly as important as what this obedience produces.

And maybe these critics will also find some time to ask themselves what brings them to their knees…or should.

Question for reflection: What do you kneel for?

Because of you: The virtue of love

"If I know what love is, it is because of you."
-Herman Hesse

Love is the greatest of all the virtues. And it is the foundation of everything that is good. Nothing else has been written about more often than love, or studied more closely than love, or longed for more universally than love, or confused more regularly than love.

Love is why human beings were created, and what we should live to be and do. But what is it? After all the philosophizing, and theologizing, and soliloquizing, what is love?

Stop.

There’s a place and a time for defining, and analyzing, and categorizing. But to really get at the breadth and depth of love, and to really understand how to do it, we need to start with a different question.

Because fundamentally love is not a what, love is a who.

I can ask you to define what love is, and you might be able to quote someone. And that warms you about as much as watching a video of a fire in a fireplace. But if I ask you who love is, you come alive. Because love is incarnational, embodied, like no other virtue. Love wears a face.

Love has hugged you. Who is love?

Love has kissed you. Who is love?

Love has held your hand. Who is love?

Love has laughed with you. Who is love?

Love has cried with you. Who is love?

Love has sacrificed for you. Who is love?

Love has fought for you. Who is love?

We love because we have been loved; that’s how we know what love is, and that’s how we know that life is worth living.

Can you even imagine your life without love?

I think of so many who have blessed my life by loving me, and teaching me how to love. But today I'm thinking particularly of my father-in-law, on what would have been his 68th birthday. He’s been dead for fifteen years now…dead, but not gone. Because life in this world ends, but love doesn’t. And that’s everything.

I love you, Mike.

Question for reflection: Who are the faces of love for you?