The Lumberjack @ 最汪的事

One of my favorite quotes is from Abraham Lincoln.

"Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."

It's simple and easy to understand. In short, reputation like shadows are ephemeral and subjected to change dictated by outside forces. Depending on the point of view and the direction of light, a shadow can be greater or lesser than the tree, just like a person may benefit from a reputation greater than his character or be disdained through misunderstanding. That contrast between something constant and something variable may become the focal lesson gained from this quote, and indeed, most people concentrate on the aspect that the tree is constant and the shadow is not. However, I refuse to believe that such an intelligent and eloquent man, a former lumberjack, would have chosen a tree in his analogy instead of a rock, a mountain, or anything else more akin to and possess the quality approaching that of an immovable object or unchangeable force.

A tree is more constant than a shadow, that's true, but it's hardly unchanging. From a seedling into a sapling then a young tree, it can change according to the light and shadows. It will grow towards the sun and reach beyond the shadows cast by larger trees around it. It can even be shaped by ingenuity, general care and planning.

In medicine we often separate risk factors between those that are modifiable vs. non-modifiable. For instance, age isn't a modifiable risk factor for heart disease while smoking is. The sunlight is like societal and environmental pressures, and the shadows of larger trees are like the reputations of the family or culture of the individual. These are relatively harder to modify and will have a significant impact on one's character. However, with a good understanding of what constitutes good character- integrity, empathy, kindness, or any other name one can chose to describe what a good person possess, a person can understand in which direction he needs to grow to reach his goal. Just like you wouldn't want a tree to grow in a serpentine pattern, it's harder to posses the quality of character if one does not practice that quality consistently, regardless of the audience or its effect. It's always easier to act in good quality when it matters or with people who are important, but a person's true character is tested during anonymity or with people that can't harm or help you immediately or in an obvious way. For instance, how you treat your waiter (even the bad ones), that person on the street corner (you know which one), or some random guy on the interwebz (a careful foray into the abyssal cesspool that's called youtube comments will illuminate this idea), will be more indicative of the type of person you currently are, characters good, bad, and ugly.

Let's take this even further, because that's what I tend to do, for better or worse. A lumberjack chops down trees. There may come a time when a person's character isn't what's necessary to accomplish something important, where sacrifice will be the only thing that could make things possible. I'm not talking about sacrifice literally, although that may also be true at times. I mean, a person might come into a situation where everything he's learned and everything that is good and righteous about him might stand in the way of the greater good. A forest of individual, all who posses good character casting accurate shadows, out of which a few may need to be cut down to build a house. Now, I don't want to get into conservation and ecology at this point. I'm using this purely as an analogy.

During the American Civil War, a nation was divided, and much of it on principle. Whilst it's easier to consider one side righteous and the other just pure wrong, the people on each side believed that they were upholding the values of good character, much like any conflict. However, a nation, as Abraham Lincoln expressed, cannot stand while divided. A house had to be built, and a lumberjack had to cut down a few trees so the American people can build it.

But what about now? Can the American people maintain this house without cutting down more trees? I'm not sure. The consistent and unending political polarization without an effective moderate voice is concerning. Division happens in the absence of compromise, almost a dirty word these days for the nation's leaders, those given the privilege and obligation to direct the nation, in discourse and action. Will the leaders of this nation posses good character or will they be focused on their shadows? Let's hope for the good character.