Virtues, Happiness and Faith

Virtues, Happiness and Faith

By John Taylor; 25 August, 2005

Books come and go from my library for reasons good and bad, frivolous
and serious, enduring and forgotten. This book, for instance, the
autobiography of Charles Francis Adams, came in here from the crassest
of motives. It looked antique enough to be worth some money if someday
I summon up the persistence to join EBay and sell some of my
acquisitions. The material in the book itself is void of interest for
me, looking to be nothing more than a pompous, self inflated pat on
his own back from a long forgotten American politician; still, one
passage almost at the end drew my interest, since it mentions my hero
and literary model, Gibbon.

"As long ago as my college days I came across the closet memorandum of
the Khalifa Abdalrahman in Gibbons Decline and Fall and it made an
impression upon me, an impression so deep that since I have not
wearied of referring to it. It is in Gibbons 52nd chapter ..."
(Charles Francis Adams, An autobiography, 1835 -- 1915, Houghton
Mifflin Co., New York, 1916, p. 211)

Adams cites a small part of this third part of the 52nd Chapter, to do
with the Arab conquests and their consequences, but unlike him I will
not stint and will treat you the context of the Khalif's thought, as
Gibbon introduces it. Gibbon's prose is so addictively beautiful that
I cannot resist.

"In a private condition, our desires are perpetually repressed by
poverty and subordination; but the lives and labors of millions are
devoted to the service of a despotic prince, whose laws are blindly
obeyed, and whose wishes are instantly gratified. Our imagination is
dazzled by the splendid picture; and whatever may be the cool dictates
of reason, there are few among us who would obstinately refuse a trial
of the comforts and the cares of royalty. It may therefore be of some
use to borrow the experience of the same Abdalrahman, whose
magnificence has perhaps excited our admiration and envy, and to
transcribe an authentic memorial which was found in the closet of the
deceased caliph."

"I have now reigned above fifty years in victory or peace; beloved by
my subjects, dreaded by my enemies, and respected by my allies. Riches
and honors, power and pleasure, have waited on my call, nor does any
earthly blessing appear to have been wanting to my felicity. In this
situation, I have diligently numbered the days of pure and genuine
happiness which have fallen to my lot: they amount to Fourteen: - O
man! place not thy confidence in this present world!"

Now of course we have developed pharmacological industries to see to
it that even those of limited means will routinely break the Khalif's
record of two weeks of "pure and genuine happiness" over a lifetime.
The problem is that happiness, as opposed to pleasure, must be
intimately linked to past and future. Pleasures coming out of a pill
or bottle tend to block memory and fog our faculties of contemplating
the prospect of future prosperity. The right time to judge my
happiness is in old age, thinking back upon what is remembered as most
significant, as the Khalif did. The only way that others can judge a
life is, as the Greeks held, after death; hence the importance of
avoiding gossip and backbiting, for any assessment of the happiness of
others, true or false, happy or unhappy, is bound to be premature and
wrong.

In a similar vein, I came across something that the author of Alice in
Wonderland wrote toward the end of his life, in a letter he wrote in
July 1885 to the mother of one of his child friends. Lewis Carroll,
then 53 years old, said,

"My dear father had been a High Church man and I have seen little
cause to modify the views I learned from him, though perhaps I regard
the holding of a different views as a less important matter than he
did. As life draws nearer to its end, I feel more and more clearly
that it will not matter in the least at the last day what form of
religion a man has professed." (cited in Leonard Marcus's introduction
to The Complete Works of Lewis Carrol, Lewis Carroll, Barnes and
Noble, New York, 1994, pp. 7-8)

I have always believed this. There is a big difference between
religion and the form of religion, as big a difference as there is
between the light and the lamp that holds it. It is a false, sick kind
of faith to imagine that God has a big chalkboard standing by Him and
as we enter the next world He marks off our beliefs as true or false,
adds up merit points and assesses our value as human beings according
to what we held in our head. That would be a very stupid hedonic
calculus. There is no merit in believing right or wrong, except
insofar as it helps our happiness and that of others. I do not say
anymore that "it is deeds, not beliefs that matter," for that is too
simplistic. I now tend to think that what matters is your focus, the
object upon with both belief and action center upon. God is a word for
our focus, and the Manifestation of God is the Personification of
personal and social focus combined for this time.

I will close with a proposal by Pat Kvaarsgaard, chair of our
Haldimand Assembly, who has made up an interesting application of the
Virtues Program for the children's classes she will be giving this
fall at her office in Caledonia. It is based upon the merit badges of
the Guides and Scouting movements, except that the reward will be for
one of the virtues. It would be interesting, in view of the later
assessment of our life's happiness in old age, to tie such educational
programs in youth to the rest of life, middle age and dotage, perhaps
by means of video and photographic records. A child who won a badge
for humility, for instance, might pick out how they applied that
virtue in later life, and then in old age think about whether and how
it contributed to their overall happiness.

GLOBAL PEACE CADETS, by Pat Kvaarsgaard

Helping Humankind Bloom

This is a universal program for all nationalities, religions, races,
and genders.

GOALS: To develop strong character by practicing the virtues.
Encourage the development and maintenance of unity in self,
relationships, families, and communities. To learn to Think Globally,
Feel Individually and Act Locally. INCREASE PEACE!

MOTTO: Develop Courage, Acquire Knowledge, Love ourselves as well as
others, and Act Virtuously to Create Unity and Peace.

RESOURCES: Virtues Guide -Books, Music, Cards, as well as the
enlistment of Community members who have a particular expertise.
(Humanitarian Organizations, Service Clubs, Religious leaders such as
clergy, Teachers, etc ... ) - Anyone who considers peace, unity, and
service their mandate.

SESSIONS: These can be weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly. They will begin
with a greeting and handshake. Group will assemble in a circle and
recite the motto then proceed to consult on the virtue of the month
(as determined by the group leader in consultation with members). This
will include an educational portion, where the leader puts forth the
virtue, e.g. Respect then discusses what it is (knowledge), why
practice it (unity and love), and how (action) it can be practiced.

ACTIVITY: This will be related to the virtue and may include art,
writing, acting, speaking, music or a service. Example- helping an
individual or group who need assistance, encouragement or support.
(Doing a Good Deed)

VIRTUE LOGS: These will be pocket books that will include how the
participant plans and actually practices a particular virtue.
(Approximately 4"x 4") The peace cadet will have the book signed after
completion of a task. The leader will review the log and sign after
the last entry. 1 Badge = approximately 9 signatures. Leader's = 10th

BADGES:

These represent application of the virtues by the GPC and completion
of 9 badges entitles the participant to a Level 1 Peace Badge. Only
the first three badges are predetermined and they must include 1.
Courage, 2. Respect, and 3. Unity

Level 2 = 18 virtue badges, Level 3 = 27 Virtue badges, Level 4 = 36
Virtue badges, Level 5 = 45 virtue badges and Level 6 = completion of
all 52 virtues along with one community service project.

The badges will be sewn on a SASH and may be draped over the shoulder of Cadets.

Fees: will include the cost of badges, journals, and donation for
community projects.

--
John Taylor

badijet@gmail.com