Thursday, September 17, 2009
Comments on That Great Brooks Column
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Letters
A Time for Humility, Not Hubris
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Published: September 17, 2009
To the Editor:
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Fogelson-Lubliner
Re “High-Five Nation,” by David Brooks (column, Sept. 15):
Thanks to Mr. Brooks for his column. When the president addresses Congress and is engulfed by excessive applause and shouting, a moment of humble reflection might be more appropriate. Consider the track record of our political leaders over the last 40 years or so, and the challenges America faces.
Vietnam, Chile, Iraq and Afghanistan. Support for murderous military regimes in Central America. One presidential impeachment and one resignation. The financial hijacking of American culture. Countless examples of pandering, lying and slanderous political campaigns and rampant corporate corruption with no reforms in sight.
Greed remains unchecked on Wall Street, and we continue flirting with financial ruin. An alarming percentage of our children don’t finish school.
Climate-change issues loom, tens of millions can’t afford health insurance, and we waste precious time appeasing a fringe that apparently thinks catcalls, insults and half-truths are the keys to effective governance.
What has happened to the United States of America? Why do we stumble so?
Perhaps a little more humility would be good for everyone.
Steve WackerSeattle, Sept. 15, 2009
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To the Editor:
David Brooks has it right. We’ve become a culture of me, me, me. I’ve seen social Darwinism spread from Wall Street to Main Street, killing alliances that were fostered by generations.
My father fought in World War II; he was a P.O.W. who never asked for anything for himself, just the chance to make a better world for his kids. As his generation passes, I think we owe it more than vainglory and a case of me-first.
In these troubling times, I hope we’ll worry about our neighbor first and ourselves last, and that we’ll pass forward the legacy whole generations have entrusted to us ... humility and love for our fellow man.
John Thomas EllisKentfield, Calif., Sept. 16, 2009
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To the Editor:
While I agree wholeheartedly with most of David Brooks’s column regarding excess and a lack of humility in contemporary society, I take issue with one of his points.
Mr. Brooks states that in 1945, “humility, the sense that nobody is that different from anybody else, was a large part of the culture then.”
In fact, Jim Crow laws dominated the American South in 1945, and Major League Baseball would not be desegregated until two years later.
It’s worth remembering that every era has its ugly side.
Paula EdelsonDurham, N.C., Sept. 15, 2009
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To the Editor:
Perhaps the most modest statement of historic achievement was the message sent to the War Office in London by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower after he had accepted the Nazis’ surrender in Reims, France. All it said was:
“The mission of this Allied Force was fulfilled at 02.41, local time, May 7th, 1945.”
Robert HummerstoneStonington, Conn., Sept. 15, 2009
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To the Editor:
David Brooks reminds us of something worth thinking about: the “Greatest Generation” would never have called itself “The Greatest Generation.”Ron BonnSan Diego, Sept. 15, 2009
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To the Editor:
David Brooks’s column rings true to those of us of a certain age. In my lifetime (56 years), people smoke less, cars are better built, and women and minorities play increasingly important roles in our society. All of these are good things, of course, but the present-day immodesty in America is shameful.
When the most popular rejoinder to “thank you” is “no problem,” that national modesty to which Mr. Brooks refers seems to be more of a lost art form, reflecting a growing indifference and self-absorption.
Jon HuntOld Greenwich, Conn., Sept. 15, 2009
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To the Editor:
Many thanks to David Brooks for his eloquent paean to humility.
He is correct: the sort of modesty expressed in the World War II-era “Command Performance” broadcast is today in very short supply.
I learned two things from his column. One, at the end of a horrendous war, our nation had the wherewithal to express modesty and gratitude instead of merely flag-waving jingoism. Two, Mr. Brooks’s public radio station is better than mine.
Anthony HatcherElon, N.C., Sept. 15, 2009
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Letters: A Time for Humility, Not Hubris
