Charles Knowlton (1927-2013)

Many of us who are older remember our childhoods as carefree days, full of fun and learning and potential. Sadly, those days are gone for most young people today. Youngsters today face pressure from all sides, to conform, to copy, to get ahead—in short, to be what society considers “successful.” Yet all too many are missing a foundational support that was for millennia taken for granted.

Many years ago, while exploring in the dark recesses of our attic, I saw a treasure. Someone had left a violin among the piles of old saved things. I knew this was a rare find, and that someday when I was older I would recover it and make beautiful music. Years went by before I retrieved the old violin, but after some string work I was ready to make music beyond my wildest dreams. Then, much to my surprise, I found that I needed something else I did not have.

My grandfather once promised to buy me a new bicycle. He made that promise many years ago, right after a politician had promised him that all elderly Americans would soon be given a bonus. Neither of us saw those promises come true. For many generations, promises have been a mainstay of hope for people seeking a better life. Even today, we are bombarded by promises of better jobs, better living, a better economy, and so on. So, are there any promises in which we can take hope?

Those of us whose lifespan goes back to the Great Depression can still recall the image of grown men selling pencils on street corners. The common attitude saw life as a day-to-day struggle for existence. The United States had stalled in its tracks, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt had a monumental job on his hands seeking to stir up a nation to get out and try. What a contrast from today’s economic difficulties, which seem to bring out a totally different attitude: “You owe me!” and “It’s my right!”

Several years ago, I had the honor of being a public school teacher in a major city. One year I was assigned to a new building under construction. When the time came for school to start, the building was not yet ready. So, I was given an assignment to take some other teachers to an old school building and hold classes there until the new building was ready.