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Be humble: Time makes ‘geezers’ out of all of us
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DEAR Wang Yong,
In your email to me on January 20 you jokingly commented, “Let’s hope that things will address themselves in the long run — but in the long run we are all dead — I am joking!”
I chuckled with you, but, actually, you know, that idea does contain an important concept of wisdom: knowing ourselves, including our limitations.
We are, after all, “just” human beings and, despite whatever “power” we may (temporarily) have, we are not little gods who have the right to manipulate or use others, including our precious world.
Your comment also reminded me of a time when I was walking to the State Capitol in Des Moines (on a lovely early spring day) headed for that day’s session of the Legislature. With me was one of my friends (he was a senator, and I but a “lowly” member of the House), a college professor and a truly brilliant man.
We were walking in silence for a little bit following a rather vigorous discussion of some piece of legislation when he, seemingly out of the blue, said, “You know, each year the Legislature has an evening ceremony to commemorate those former members who have died during the preceding year and, at that time, as the name and a brief bio of each deceased is read, a candle is lit honoring that person. Then, as the remembrance for each person is concluded, the candle is blown out.”
He looked at me, smiling, and said, “Today you and I are worked up about a piece of legislation we believe to be important, but which most of the people in our districts are completely unaware of. And someday, years from now, our own candles will be lit and, after remarkably few words summarizing our entire lives and accomplishments, then blown out. We, and our deeds, hopes, and little victories, will be extinguished in that little puff of smoke.”
The Iowa Legislature also instituted, many years ago, a recognition called “Pioneer Lawmakers,” a title that reminds me of 18th and 19th century frontiersmen and women struggling ever westward across the then vast wilderness of the plains. Well, the reality is a tad more humble: Every person who has ever served in the legislature automatically is “inducted” into this group on the 20th anniversary of their first election to office. For me, that date occurred in 1993 so, at the age of 50, I, too, became a “Pioneer Lawmaker.”
What this means in reality is that once a year this group comes to Des Moines (those, that is, who are not still serving in the legislature after 20 years who, after all, are already there in session) and gets together for a luncheon followed by a formal greeting and acknowledgement of their status by the sitting legislature. I remember seeing this group enter the House chamber in 1973 (before I had even turned 30) and, regarding them, thought (a little uncharitably, I confess), “Who are these geezers?” I did not know one of them, nor even their names!
Ah, but if I were now (43 years later) to reappear at one of these ceremonies, how many of the present members of the Legislature would look at me and wonder, “Who is that old dude? I don’t remember his name at all!”
The humorous vengeance of time!
Greg
Greg Cusack is a retired statesman from Iowa, United States. Wang Yong is opinion editor at Shanghai Daily.
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