There is something about the extraordinary that is rarely recognized. Maybe it's just taken for granted? Or unappreciated? As much as I want to set my cynicism aside, people really can be that blind as to ignore that which makes their world a better place. Other than athletic heroes, rarely are good deeds or good people given their proper due. Yet, it is not a problem confined to our generation alone.
Julius Caesar civilized much of what is now Western Europe and led Rome to being the greatest empire in the history of creation. Without Rome, there would be no French, Spanish, or Italian language (as well as linguistic dialects and derivations). There would be little continuity or collaboration in Europe, either politically, economically, or socially without Rome's legacy and influence. The word "law" (lex), would not be known as it is today, neither would the phrase "From One, Many" (E Pluribus Unum). Without Caesar, there would be no Rome, as we know it, and likely no United States. After all, there is no such thing as inevitability in history; people move it, not fate.
As thanks, the Roman Senate assassinated Julius Caesar in 44 B.C.E.
Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, boldly and publicly declaring both that the Confederacy was nothing more than "states in rebellion" and spelling out in grand eloquence that slavery was to be tolerated no more by the United States of America. That proclamation took effect Jan. 1, 1863. In 1864, Lincoln ran for reelection from the Republican Party. His opponent was George McClellan. McClellan was a former Union general whose greatest claim to fame was the tie at Antietam. Lincoln won reelection, but barely. Six months following the election, in the smoldering ruins of America he spoke the words, "With malice toward none and charity to all." The fact that he had to campaign at all for a second term is perhaps the most baffling examination into the mind of the American electorate we can study.
Yet, abruptly and tragically, Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, six weeks following his second inauguration and less than two weeks after Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse.
October 1940, free Europe was a myth and America was lost in itself, leaving a solitary bastion defending liberty, Britain. The setting sees the Luftwaffe bombarding every city they could over the course of the war with everything it could muster. London in a state of desperation as the history of mankind hung in the balance. Hitler was marching on freedom, and with every blast, the future looked bleaker. A conservative politician, Winston Churchill, rallied his "little isle" against the evil of one man's maniacal vision. Once the ravage ended, a nation, embattled and tired, clung to its flag in triumph. The nation that defeated the Spanish Armada, Napoleon, and the Third Reich looked toward its figurehead, humbled by age but towering in symbolic stature, and voted him out of office in 1945.
From Gandhi to John F. Kennedy to Martin Luther King, Jr., the trend continues, but this list is not relegated or limited in any way to politics. In their times, Mozart, Van Gogh, and others were never seen as the geniuses they were. It goes the same for philosophy and science, as Athens executed Socrates, and the Catholic Church killed Copernicus.
Too often Abel, the gentle farmer, dies to the sound of silent brutality, but Cain gets a talk show and a four-album deal. Our priorities fall victim to instant gratification and stagnant morality. Many see a man like Yasser Arafat as a walking saint, and Osama bin Laden has a cult-like following. George W. Bush has a nation of people looking at shadows on the wall while they sing him hymns, and Mao Tse-tung is still seen as a hero in the People's Republic of China, but he murdered 20 million Chinese citizens during his reign.
One final large example. Princess Diana was killed in a limousine accident in Paris in August 1997 and was hailed as "the people's princess." Mother Theresa died in Calcutta in September 1997, in the midst of the people to whom she devoted her life. A Catholic woman in a Hindu nation, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and charitable icon, left this world on page 14 of the Home and Garden section.
Our time at UB is a microcosm of our priorities later in life. While not in the same league as Lincoln or Churchill, subtly extraordinary things go overlooked here. Because college lays the foundation for the future, what happens in the limited world of UB does matter. For example, last month in the SA Assembly Speaker elections Jennifer Tuttle lost in a run-off. For anyone who doesn't pay attention to their student government (and shame on you), Tuttle saved the Assembly last year. The old speaker left the legislative body in disarray, devoid of any legitimate influence on the functioning of SA as a whole, largely ceding its power to the executive, an executive that was vocal in saying they did not want that power. Tuttle salvaged that which was left of the Assembly, providing the strong leadership it desperately needed, and turned it into a viable organ of student democracy. Her initiative to reform FSA made progress toward improving quality of food on campus from a variety of angles. In short, her tenure as speaker was productive, while looking out for the interests of the students. The same SA Assembly she rescued repaid her with blatant disregard to the past and shortsightedness.
It seems that too few people step to the plate at UB when it counts, preferring to defer instead. Tuttle stepped up, won the game, and was cut from her position. So, as this does not fall into the ranks of Caesar's murder, it shows that even in an environment like UB, good things are unappreciated.
As a human collective, we tend to venerate the silly or destructive, but ignore, even punish, the profound. Every generation is woven into this destructive tapestry, but the only antidote for such an affliction is awareness. What if our ancestors were more aware then? Imagine if Lincoln could have facilitated reconstruction or Churchill negotiated with Stalin, how would our world be different? This begs the question, "What if we were more aware now?" If we were, what would we see?
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
