Thanks Cousin, For The History Lesson...And The Reminder

My cousin Mark is a wise man.

I saw a post on his Facebook feed earlier today. I hope it's okay I'm sharing part of his message. I'm doing it because I think it's important. It's because we so easily forget what's important. He posted about the U.S. Constitution and he posted it on the document's anniversary.

Fifty-three years ago I delivered an oration to the Minidoka County, Idaho unit of the American Legion. In 1967, the assigned topic was Our Constitution, Worth Having, Worth Defending. Nancy Stallings and Pam Abo were also presenting that night. I focused on the importance of civil society’s involvement in promoting patriotism. At the age of 16, I sensed that defending the constitution was important, but my understanding was still relatively superficial. Today my sensitivity to the active issues is more widely and deeply developed, but the importance of the institutions of civil society: the churches, the schools, and the voluntary organizations is still one of my principle beliefs.

On this anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, I listened to a presentation given at BYU, via ZOOM, by Rabbi Jonathan H. Sacks, Baron Sacks. Although it wasn’t his only, or even primary topic, he discussed the difference between contract and covenant. He said a contract is an agreement between individuals in their self-interest, a quid pro quo, if you will. On the other hand a covenant is a joint pledge of loyalty and fidelity, and he mentioned the founding documents of the United States as a premier example of covenant. He mentioned several documents from our founding: the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution as the basis of our covenant. He quoted these words from the beginning of the Declaration: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—” Then, there are the words at the end: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” This encapsulated the founding covenant of 1776.

The very beginning of the Constitution again sounds in covenant: “We the People of the United States” form, establish, insure, provide, promote, and secure the critical objectives of the new government, and then “do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.” A people covenanting in explicit writing to undertake vigorous action on behalf of a nation.

My thought this Constitution Day is that we should see our individual obligations as covenant obligations to our fellow citizens. Loyalty and fidelity to each other can work; our form of government cannot succeed in an atmosphere of hate and violence.

I've been out of public schools for decades and because we've homeschooled for over twenty years, I don't know what things are being taught in schools today. I could surmise what is being taught from things my friends say, friends who do have kids in school, but that's not fair.

I hope they're teaching about the U.S. Constitution and why it's important. I hope the children learn that without this and other documents, the world would be much different.

I asked my cousin if I could share his story. He agreed. I wanted to wish the Constitution a happy birthday. Thanks, Mark--for the speech back then, and for the reminder today.

A Photo Of My Dad's Family...

Yesterday, as I sat in a booth at a Denny's in Orem Utah, my cousin Mark--from literally half a world away--posted a picture of my father's family.

I look at a lot of pictures. I take a lot of pictures. I appreciate the art of photography. I like, when I see an incredible photograph, to enjoy the experience that view provides. The photo my cousin posted wasn't high art, no effects were used, no filters. But, even without all that, I found it one of the most amazing photographs I've seen in a long time.

It was a photo of my father's family, the only child missing was the one not yet born.

And, incidentally, that child not in the picture is the only member of the family still alive.

My father's in the picture, Harry, fourth from the left on the front row.

I didn't know a lot about my father's family. Growing up, we visited my uncles and aunts on my father's side. My father's parents passed away decades before, so long, in fact, my mother never knew her in-laws. They were gone before she met my father. And since my father passed away forty-three years ago this February, we spent even less time visiting his side of the family. I doubt it was intentional, just the way it was. 

My cousin Mark, who currently lives in Russia and is on a LDS mission with his wife, has been posting interesting family stories for the past couple of days (his father, Jack, is the baby of the photo--second from the left on the front row...). I remember spending time with his family growing up. We had good times with Jack and Lova, even though my cousins were several years older than us.

I don't have a lot of memories of my father, and unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer people around who knew him or remember him. Now that my mother has also passed, my main source of knowledge of the man left with her.

Growing up without the advantage of having a father in my life was not ideal, especially when I would like to have had his wisdom and council as I try to navigate life with all its challenges. I am grateful to the man who, with is parents and siblings, posed for a photo in a field in Idaho around 1930, and who grew up to be someone I still admire, who I look up to, and who I look forward to one day getting to know a lot better.