The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit -- My Hero

My thoughts on this month's book club, in no particular order.

9 to 5 vs. Mover and Shaker
This goes back to one of our earliest discussions. What's the relative value (or are they even commensurate) of the "heroism" of working day in day out, raising a family, going to church, participating in town meetings, etc. vs. giving your whole life over to your passion ( a la Paul Farmer). I felt like the moral of the book was largely that sacrificing the family life for the passionate life is a poor trade off, at least when the passion (as in the case of Ralph Hopkins) is for business, even good business. But then there's that little snippet of dialogue at the end, when Ralph let's himself go, and says (paraphrasing) "we're the ones who get things done." And he's right, I think. If there weren't those people who obsessively dedicated themselves to things, whether it's research, or business, or healthcare, the world would not progress at the speed it does.

Atonement, Honesty and Facing our Demons
A large part of the novel was about Tom recognizing that he couldn't run from his responsibilities. I loved the way, early on in the book, that he hid behind his cynicism. And it scared me that the cynicism seemed so familiar to me. I often find myself wondering about the "political" advisability of statements, relationships, etc. rather than the rightness of them. It wasn't until Tom faced his responsibilities, in the form of standing up for his beliefs about the big speech, that his life started to turn around. And it wasn't until he faced up to his biggest responsibility, his obligation to Maria and their son, and his biggest sin, hiding it from Betsy, that he became a whole man again.

Striving for Success
Another point that hit perhaps a bit too close to home was the Rath's struggle to succeed, particularly in the form of the nicer home in the nicer neighborhood. I'm a little sensitive about the fact that we bought a home in a "good" town, with a "good" school district, and paid tens of thousands of dollars extra to do so. The reason was to be close to work (which happens to be located within the "good" town), but I'm ashamed to admit that I get a little thrill out of telling people I live in Lexington, and having them tell me what a nice town it is, how great the schools are, etc. This sort of materialism is checked in the book by the Angel of Destruction, in the form of Edward Schultz. And it isn't until after the school board meeting, when the Raths stand up (in this case it's primarily Besty) and stop scheming and are up front and honest about their intentions that the situation starts to really turn around.

The Big Moral
So this is a big moral book. The moral seems to me to be: If you are honest with people, accept your responsibilities, and act with integrity the world will reward you. But when you turn your back on your responsibilities either out of fear (like Tom early on) or selfishness (like Ralph), or when you are dishonest, like Edward, the world will reflect that back at you as well. Sort of a karma-based capitalism.

While I think it's true that the world is largely what you make out of it, I also think that the idealized vision of everything working out if we're just honest and forthright is a bit misguided. It reminds me of one of the more powerful lessons I learned about tithing. It was a story from a returned missionary from, I believe, Guatamala (no one you know, Alvin). He told how a man, newly baptized, struggled to decide whether to pay his tithing or buy food for his family. He decided to pay his tithing, knowing the Lord could bless him. And then went hungry for three days until his next paycheck. Sometimes acting with integrity and honesty just has to be its own reward.

Last week in church our sacrament meeting talks were about having joy despite trials. I was conducting the meeting, and as I concluded shared one of my favorite Neal Maxwell anecdotes. After the Nazi invasion of France, when the British troops were withdrawing from Dunkirk, the rearguard were able to send a brief message to the troops in the channel. The message they chose was "but if not," a reference to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who told King Nebuchadnezzar that they believed if he threw them into the fiery furnace their God could save them. But if not, they still would refuse to worship the false idols of Babylon.

It also reminds me a scene near the end of "Man for All Seasons" when Meg is pleading with her father to sign the King's Act and save himself. I've copied the dialogue below:

(Meg) - In any state that was half good, you would be raised up high, not here. It's not your fault the state's three-quarters bad. If you elect to suffer for it, you elect to be a hero.

(Thomas) - That's very neat. But look now. If we lived in a state where virtue was profitable, common sense would make us saintly. But since we see that avarice, anger, pride and stupidity commonly profit far beyond charity, modesty, justice and thought perhaps we must stand fast a little even at the risk of being heroes.

(Meg) - But in reason! Haven't you done as much as God can reasonably want?

(Thomas) - Well, finally it isn't a matter of reason. Finally, it's a matter of love.

The End
That's enough of my random thoughts. I hope you all liked the book as much as I did.