The way I got my name goes a little differently depending on who is telling the story. But I can certainly tell you how I did NOT get my name. It didn’t come from the book Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter, though I suppose I wouldn’t have minded if it did. But the ingredients within that book have not translated fully to my life.
I wouldn’t say that I am a hopeless pessimist. And I am not a starry-eyed optimist either. I think I try to look at life realistically and understand that nowhere does it say that it has to go swimmingly.
For those who do not know the book or the subsequent movie, the title character is Pollyanna Whittier. She’s eleven. She’s an orphan. And she must go to the town of Beldingsville, Vermont, to live with her wealthy Aunt Polly. But Aunt Polly is stern, and mean, and rather cold. And truthfully, Aunt Polly doesn’t want anything to do with Pollyanna, but feels she owes it to her late sister.
Despite being an orphan, Pollyanna’s philosophy of life centers on what she calls “The Glad Game.” She picked this attitude up from her father — optimistic and positive in every way. The only rule of the game is to find something to be glad about in every situation. It doesn’t matter how dire the situation may be. There is always a bright spot to be found.
So. That is how Pollyanna lives her eleven-year-old life, skipping over and through all her trials. And with this philosophy, and her cheery, happy, optimistic attitude, she transforms the town of Beldingsville. That is the story, in a nutshell. The Pollyanna Way.
Yesterday, a mob of terrorists stormed our Capitol Building in Washington D.C. There was an attempt by the outgoing president to form a coup and overthrow the United States government. I’m not sure it is over.
Back in July of 2020, when we started nearing that date of the elections in November, I told people that my biggest fear would be this very thing happening. Someone close to me said I was an alarmist. A pessimist. But, throughout this entire process, I saw this thing coming. I could see the craziness on social media. When they started clamoring over on Parler, I understood it was a place of planning for them. I wish I had been wrong.
I was met this morning with a quote from Charles Kettering. He said, “Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.” Part of me thinks this is bad advice. Oh sure. I know it is better if we have confidence in ourselves and stay our course, following our hearts, minds, and souls, on the path of righteousness. No doubt. But I think we need to do this with a shred of realism. Because, after all, it is quite possible to fail. I’ve seen it happen, despite someone’s best efforts. In fact, every time two teams match up in competition, one of them fails, if you are counting wins and losses.
Biden won because eighty-one million Americans voted for him. He was confirmed by Congress as the 46th President of the United States. But it came at a great cost to the American people.
After I watched the mobs storm the Capitol, I thought surely, none of the people from my town would be able to support this, or Trump, ever again. But. Immediately, on social media, they did support him. All the more.
It is possible to fail. And we had better be wary of that.
On the other hand, there is always a reason to play that Glad Game. This morning, I woke up in America — free America — where the Constitution is still the reigning document, and we can be glad for that.
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“Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.”
— Adlai Stevenson
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“In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it.”
― Barack Obama
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“He who joyfully marches to music rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, senseless brutality, deplorable love-of-country stance and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be part of so base an action! It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.”
― Albert Einstein
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Our nation under attack, and the spirit of us.
