Seacoast NRG

Well, let me tell you…

I wasn’t a hero in any battle, political or otherwise.  I didn’t raise the flag over Iwo Jima.  I didn’t write a letter to the President, advising him of the dangers to (yes, truly) national security.  I was not a riveter, nor particularly riveting.  I interred no offender, captured no foe.  I fired not a single shot.  I stormed no beaches, though I napped on a few, and picked up garbage on a few more.  I broke no secret codes, though I did read the science, which wasn’t an Enigma.  I didn’t dance to Glen Miller–at least not when it was in style, anyway.  I didn’t smoke Chesterfields.  I didn’t locate the Kaga in six crucial minutes over Midway.  I wasn’t part of the Underground, though I did ride the subway whenever possible.  I didn’t fly near-suicidal missions out of Chelveston in the ball-turret gun of a B-17.  I didn’t participate in paper drives, scrap drives, or rubber drives (but perhaps recycling counts for something?)  I created no life-saving or war-shortening invention.   I made no ultimate sacrifice.  In fact, I barely sacrificed anything, anything of true value, at all. And what I gave up, I did not miss.

What did I do?  I learned.  I educated myself.   I came to understand that my bad habits, my laziness, my unthinking ways of living were part of the problem; that I, too, bore responsibility for where we find ourselves now.  I strove to prove that even small changes make a meaningful difference.  I tried to share my ideas, if only to spark polite conversation.  I did not scream, flame, or assassinate.  I sought new ways of thinking, and tried to share them.  I examined my life, time and again, to find value in place of convenience; to satisfy needs in place of wants; to remind myself that for the vast majority of humankind’s experience, the primary struggle has been that of mere survival, not consumption or status; that even today, that struggle continues for many.  I made no extraordinary sacrifice, but merely tried to be comfortable with less–and then less again.  I sought not to be the leader of a movement, to head the fury of an aroused democracy, but only to make those movements myself.  I did not become a radical, but I instead tried to think in (gasp) conservative ways; conservative in it’s old-fashioned definition that is:  using less, saving for others, preserving for the future.  I did not remove myself from the grid, did not run away from modern life, did not seek to destroy our good fortunes, but simply tried to use them wisely, as any other resources.  Quite simple, really.

And I tried to explain and model that thinking, that way of life, for you, my two young sons.  And that will be the true measure of my success.

This post is my contribution to Urban Monk’s posit:  The blogosphere is coming to an end.  You have one last post; what will it be?  If enough bloggers respond to his challenge, Urban Monk will make a donation, out of his own pocket, to charity.  I was first included in this meme by Cody at THRILLING|Heroics, and Nia of LeaveAmerica.  In kind, I would like to tag some other bloggers that I visit, admire and enjoy:  David Brooks, Amy Kane, Janice Brown, Eric,  Sara Noel, and Kate.