| July 4th, 2009
Happy Fourth of July!
A few weeks ago, my wife and I saw South Pacific at Lincoln Center in New York City. Rogers and Hammerstein wrote and produced this great American musical in 1949. The story, if you don’t know it, takes place in the Pacific theater of World War II. Emile, a local French landowner, woos Nellie, an American woman half his age, serving in the American navy. The navy wants Emile to help them in their effort to gain the upper hand over the Japanese, but Emile prefers peace, prosperity and the love of Nellie.
Emile reminded me of our Founding Fathers. Many of them didn’t want to fight either. What drove these men to finally choose war was their common belief that all men shared
“…certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty
and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed…”The men who ultimately signed the Declaration of Independence prudently deferred the decision to fight until they felt they exhausted all options, including repeated petitions to their king and to parliament. Only when they were ignored and rebuffed over and over did they decide to fight.
In South Pacific Emile, too, ultimately decides to fight. Just like the patriots facing the might of the British army and navy two centuries before him, Emile accepts an assignment that may very well lead to the loss of all he has worked for, all he has longed for, perhaps even his death.
Before making his difficult decision, Emile contemplates what he believes to be the loss of his love, Nellie. While most of us know the show’s signature song, “Some Enchanted Evening,” listen as Emile sings another great song, “This Nearly Was Mine”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSH6oBRw6rw/(By the way, we were fortunate enough to see this magnificent Brazilian baritone, Paulo Szot, as Emile. He debuts at the Metropolitan Opera this season.)
Here are Oscar Hammerstein’s exceptional and moving lyrics:
One dream in my heart, one love to be living for,
One love to be living for, this nearly was mine.
One girl for my dreams, one partner in paradise,
This promise of paradise, this nearly was mine.
Close to my heart she came, only to fly away,
Only to fly as day flies from moonlight.
Now, now I’m alone, still dreaming of paradise,
Still saying that paradise once nearly was mine.
So clear and deep are my fancies,
Of things I wish were true,
I’ll keep remembering evenings,
I wish I’d spent with you,
I’ll keep remembering kisses from lips I’ll never own,
And all the lovely adventures,
That we have never known.
One dream in my heart, one love to be living for,
One love to be living for, this nearly was mine.
One girl for my dreams, one partner in paradise,
This promise of paradise, this nearly was mine.
Close to my heart she came, only to fly away,
Only to fly as day flies from moonlight.
Now, now I’m alone, still dreaming of paradise,
Still saying that paradise once nearly was mine.When our forefathers made their decision to fight, they explained it in the conclusion of the Declaration of Independence. You can sense their courage and determination, and witness their faith and reliance on each other:
“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance
on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge
to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”It’s not so clear why Emile joins the fight. Is it because he thinks he lost his love? Is it to help Lt. Cable, a sympathetic character who asks for his help? We never really know. In the end, he goes to war for his own reasons.
What we do know is that Emile and our forefathers made their decision in spite of danger, the loss of their freedom and possessions – even the possible loss of their lives. In the end, they put personal concerns aside to serve the common good.
We always hear the word “freedom” around the Fourth of July – and for good reason. But we need to hear more about the common good, too. It’s a long time coming. Without a sense of the common good, personal freedom easily serves as a convenient excuse for what is, in fact, selfishness, self-indulgence and greed. Our economic and financial crises are testimony to that.
Without their understanding of and devotion to the common good, no one would have signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. That very day, Benjamin Franklin is reputed to have said:
We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.In the end, our forefathers got their Republic. In the end, Emile’s decision was rewarded with peace, prosperity and the love he so earnestly sought. Now, as we confront the critical financial, economic and political challenges being thrust upon us, it’s our turn to decide.
God Bless America.
P.S. – We hope you enjoyed this personal reflection. If you’re interested in our thoughts on the important developing issues during this ongoing financial and economic crisis, visithttp://rickesposito.blogspot.com/
Richard S. Esposito, ChFC
Lighthouse Wealth Management LLC
405 Lexington Avenue, 26th Floor
New York, NY 10174
Tel: 212-907-6583/Fax: 866-924-1952
Email: resposito@lighthousewm.com
|
