The Spirit of Davey Crockett

Recently, a friend complained to me about the women he was dating. Women, who never smiled, didn't laugh, criticized everyone and thought only of what they could get from a man. A woman I know moaned that the men she meets are users, liars and abusers who have no compassion. That same night, I caught the usual sad news we see every day at 5 and 6 o'clock; stories of murders, home invasions, and the resulting disasters of shoddy workmanship by men who were only interested in wealth. Are we a nation of predator and prey, users and complainers, gossips and liars, cheaters and abusers? Is it just too sad to be alive?

We watch the movie stars who get in trouble and the sad party girls whose lives revolve around the next drink and we are fascinated because we love to gossip about them until they are just too sad to care about anymore and then we look away. What happened to this country I asked, where is God, where is Thomas Jefferson? For goodness sakes, where is Davey Crockett? Davey Crockett who gave his life so that others could be free from oppression, so that we could pursue happiness and greatness. Davy Crockett a patriot, statesman, pioneer, Congressman, a man who emptied his rifle one cold inclement day at the Alamo and then used it as a club until he died because there were just too many of the enemy all around him. Davey Crockett who choose to be there for others, who spent his life fighting injustice, who decided there was a cause worth dying for and whom, some believe, was even admired by those who murdered him. Where are our Davey Crockett's today? Where are the honorable men who stand up for what they believe, honest men with loving hearts? Can that type of man exist in this world? Where is the spirit of Davey Crockett?

I remember a man named Audie Murphy, just a regular guy, until he was called upon to serve his country. He emulated Davey Crockett in World War II and was the most decorated soldier in that war. I remember movie stars like Gary Cooper who lived with respect until they died. Remember the sweetness of Ed Wynn, the heart of Humphrey Bogart, the dedication of Lloyd Bridges, men we could look up to, not perfect men, but honorable men. There were authors who poured their hearts out on paper, good Americans who cried for us all in the passion of their words. Men like James Fenimore Cooper who wrote the Last of the Mohicans, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, or Louisa May Alcott who wrote Little Women. There is a movie star today that seems to portray that spirit to our young people, his name is Will Smith, he is a dedicated family man and I pray he stays on the course he has chosen because we need every good role model we can find right now.

Honorable men whose word is their life and whose promises are their laws don't live their lives without mercy on those who are weaker. They don't prey on the innocent just because they can. An honorable man protects the innocent and the weak. This country wasn't built on hate and anger. Oh, there were always angry people who caused trouble wherever they went, but they were not tolerated. No one had the time to put up with their nonsense when they had to get through the wilderness and feed their families. People on the frontier didn't have the time to baby their slackers and complainers. The problem is our "quiet men" who make a difference in the lives of others every day are not seen by our media, not reported on daily. But, when there is a crisis they rise up bringing with them a feeling that impacts us all, a spirit we can all feel. That is the spirit of Davey Crockett that empowers us as a nation and keeping that spirit alive is a cause for which we would all lay down our lives.

We saw some of the spirit of Davey Crockett after 9-11. Remember United Airlines flight 93? Men on board that flight became like Davey that fateful day. Men who gave their lives so that at least one airplane hijacked that morning would not destroy another life, another building, or damage a government that, good or bad, is ours; a way of life that we suddenly discovered we cherished. There were no lies that day, only heroes. There was a day after that when we all went to work and did our jobs for the sake of our nation because that was all we could do. The only thing each of us could do to keep our country running when we wanted to sit and cry. When we couldn't all be in New York sifting through the rubble we made the decision to do what we could in our own way. We sent money, signed petitions, raised flags, wore patriotic signs on our clothing and vowed not to take our way of life for granted ever again. For a few days we all had direction and we all had the spirit of Davey.

How can we get that spirit to fly with our flags every day? I say that when we criticize and gossip about our neighbors and friends we destroy that spirit. When women complain and men lie they are destroying our country and contributing to a spirit of hopelessness that drives some people who have no hope to do unthinkable things in revenge. You know the things you are doing to destroy our way of life, the things that make us look like a society to be hated abroad and despised within. Just stop hurting the neighbor you don't like, stop spreading gossip that is most likely wrong anyway. I'm not talking about the occasional mistake or slip; I am discussing those people who have made lies and gossip a way of life. Remember the saying about walking in another man's shoes, it goes like this "Before criticizing a man, walk a mile in his shoes". Or, don't criticize a person without understanding their situation.

Stop before you spread gossip, stop before you cheat and lie. Is that the kind of society you want to live in? Do you want your children to live in a world like that? Vow to live your life with honor and then make it your business to encourage everyone you meet to do the same. Vow to be encouraging, help your friends pursue their dreams. Just one encouraging word to someone who doesn't have enough faith to pursue his or her dreams can make all the difference in their life and they may be the next great writer, or scientist, or politician, or dreamer who changes our world for the better. In that kind of atmosphere, before you know it Daveys will surround us all. One mans decision to be a better person and better citizen can transform our and our childrens futures. That was the spirit we had in this country that made it great. That is the Rosie the Riveter spirit that went out and got the work done and just paid no attention to the angry complainers around her.

We ARE a country with the spirit of Davey Crockett if we let ourselves be, when we are not complacent, when we stop looking the other way when we see dishonesty. Standing up for honesty is the most patriotic thing we can do today. If you are a man who likes to use women, a woman who likes to lie to men, if you abuse one child or hurt their tiny spirits, if you are a thief, or a cheat, then you might just as well burn your flag because you don't know what it is to be an American. Go back and read a history book to find out what our forefathers had to face to give us the freedoms we have today. They were men and women who kept honor in their everyday lives. When we see someone struggle to do their job, let us uplift them and applaud them as they do their work. Let us refuse to endure the cheating, the lies, the bitching and revolutionize our nation and our world. You can bring love into the life of someone who is hurting and make such a difference in your own corner of the world that you will not only bring back the spirit that we all long for, you will BE the spirit of Davey Crockett.