To the Victor Lies the Story When the battle is over and the dust has settled, the victor frames the story. The vanquished, if they survive, create myths of their own, of course, but since they’re unlikely to mesh with those of their new rulers, the official tale will come from the one who conquered, like American history books written to glorify the white man. In recent years we have begun to be more honest about our past, at least in some parts of our country, but our human tendency is to understand the story from our perspective, to justify our actions, and to condemn those who acted against us.…
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In Faithfulness Is the Salvation of the World
Faithfulness and Lamplighters What does it mean to be faithful? Does it mean always telling the truth to the people you love? Is it being monogamous? Perhaps it means obeying God. Can you be faithful to strangers? What about co-workers or employers? In Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, a lamplighter is faithful to his orders. Every evening at sunset, he uses a torch to light a flame lantern. In the morning, at sunrise, he blows it out. The job started out pretty good, except that over the years, the revolutions of his tiny planet sped up until now a day lasts only one minute. This means the lamplighter can…
