~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
There is something about this time of year I truly love. I am an outdoor-woodsy
type. I love being in the outdoors, especially in the fall and winter months. I’m not a big hunter (although I see nothing wrong with it).
I would just rather be in the woods camping, hiking or thinking.
As I was running this past Sunday morning at day break I passed a
particularly beautiful corner lot in my neighborhood. I’ve passed by this place
hundreds of times since moving here and have never given it much thought.
This time as I was passing by, the morning fog was lifting. Dew covered
the ground. A fresh blanket of red and yellow leaves had fallen the day before.
A few leaves were still falling. A chill was in the air. A sure sign that
winter would soon be on the way.
As I watched the leaves fall I was taken back to a comment someone
had made in a discussion we were having on integrity. The question was asked,
“What happens when someone shakes your tree? Do your leaves fall or do you hold
firm to your ideals and morals?”
What a powerful thought?
How firm are you in your convictions and beliefs? Do your ideals
change with the times like the trees and the seasons? Are you firmly rooted in
what you believe and have justification as to why you believe what you do? Are you convicted by your inner integrity to
do what is right and what is just? Is this how you run your business and
interact with others in your community?
This point was driven home for me further when I read an excerpt
from the speech, Citizenship in a Republic, delivered by
Theodore Roosevelt in 1910.
Roosevelt declares in his delivery, “A number of years ago I was engaged in cattle-ranching on the
great plains of the western United States. There were no fences. The cattle
wandered free, the ownership of each being determined by the brand; the calves
were branded with the brand of the cows they followed. If on the round-up an
animal was passed by, the following year it would appear as an unbranded
yearling, and was then called a maverick. By the custom of the country these
mavericks were branded with the brand of the man on whose range they were
found. One day I was riding the range with a newly hired cowboy, and we came
upon a maverick. We roped and threw it; then we built a little fire, took out a
cinch-ring, heated it at the fire; and the cowboy started to put on the brand.
I said to him, ‘It is So-and-so’s brand,’ naming the man on whose range we
happened to be. He answered: ‘That’s all right, boss; I know my business.’ In
another moment I said to him: ‘Hold on, you are putting on my brand!’ To which
he answered: ‘That’s all right; I always put on the boss’s brand.’ I answered: ‘Oh,
very well. Now you go straight back to the ranch and get what is owed you; I
don’t need you any longer. ’He jumped up and said: ‘Why, what’s the matter? I
was putting on your brand.’ And I answered: ‘Yes, my friend, and if you will
steal for me you will steal from me.’
Now, the same principle which applies in private life
applies also in public life. If a public man tries to get your vote by saying
that he will do something wrong in your interest, you can be absolutely certain
that if ever it becomes worth his while he will do something wrong against your
interest.”
I
encourage you to be men (and women) of good moral character. Have integrity in
all you do and say. If you say you will do something, do it. If you can’t, say
so.
We
will soon be electing new leadership to our country. I encourage you all to
vote your conscience. But even more strongly, I encourage you to know your
convictions and understand why you choose to vote the way you do.
Vote,
conduct your business, interact with your community and lead your families with
character, integrity and honesty. Don’t be like the leaves of the trees that
fall to the ground in a stiff breeze. Hang on to your values and I know our
community will be better because of it!
Go
vote and happy fall y’all!
Larkin
Larkin
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