"The politician, for example, would never have us think that it is love of office, the desire for the notorious elevation of public place, that drives him on. No, the thing that governs him is his pure devotion to the common weal, his selfless and high-minded statesmanship, his love of his fellow man, and his burning idealism to turn out the rascal who usurps the office and betrays the public trust which he himself, as he assures us, would so gloriously and devotedly maintain."-Thomas Wolfe, You Can't Go Home Again
"So, too, the soldier. It is never love of glory that inspires him to his profession. It is never love of battle, love of war, love of all the resounding titles and the proud emoluments of the heroic conqueror. Oh, no. It is devotion to duty that makes him a soldier. There is no personal motive in it. He is inspired simply by the selfless ardor of his patriotic abnegation. He regrets he has but one life to give for his country."
"So it goes through every walk of life. The lawyer assures us that he is the defender of the weak, the guardian of the oppressed, that champion of the rights of defrauded widows and beleaguered orphanism, the upholder of justice, the unrelenting enemy, at no matter what the cost to himself, of all forms of chicanery, fraud, theft, violence, and crime. Even the businessman will not admit to selfish motive in his money-getting. On the contrary, he is a developer of the nation's resources. He is the benevolent employer of thousands of working men who would be lost and on the dole without the organizing genius of his great intelligence. He is the defender of the American ideal of rugged individualism, the shining exemplar to youth of what a poor country boy may achieve in this nation through a devotion to the national virtues of thrift, industry, obedience to duty, and business integrity. He is, he assures us, the backbone of the country, the man who makes the wheels go round, the leading citizen, Public Friend No. 1."
Why take myself down a notch when Thomas Wolfe (not to be confused with our markedly less talented contemporary, Tom) does it so much more eloquently?
1 comment:
Still thinking of you.
How does the teaching go? I would like to hear more about your classes. You talked once about how the classes wre divided. How does thar affect the student motivation and behavior?
Are you getting to know any of the local population?
Take care of yourself. We will talk soon.
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