Those Who Keep Things Going

A letter from a friend has turned our thoughts to a citation from a current source: “To me there is an aura of grandeur about the dull routine of maintenance…. It is easier to build than to maintain. Even a lethargic or debilitated population can be galvanized for awhile to achieve something impressive, but the energy that goes into maintenance of things in good repair day in and day out is the energy of true vigor.”¹ Applying this to “our present problems,” the letter continues, “it is easier to win our freedom, build a nation and subdue a continent, than it is now to maintain that freedom, and live peaceably with ourselves…. It is easier to win the hand of a lovely girl than to do the less glamorous task of keeping [that lovely relationship alive.]”² It may be easier to jump into a new marriage than to keep an old one sweet and sacred, as evidenced by increasing divorce. “It is easier to win converts to a cause than it is to keep them in continued service….”² It may be easier to begin new projects than to finish good ones already begun. And certainly it is easier to criticize and destroy than to cherish and preserve. Criticism is always easier than creation or preservation. Suddenly turning to something that seems new, or suddenly tossing away something we have tired of may seem much easier⎯when maintaining and preserving require patience, discipline, duty. But there is a quiet kind of heroism in those who keep things going, who keep contracts, who keep commitments, who provide employment; who rear and teach and care for children; who maintain the sanctity of home and marriage; who live and uphold the law, and who contribute to the freedom, peace, and protection of community and country and to the preservation of all that is most precious. Rushing into what is new is sometimes exciting. But preserving what is good is an absolute essential⎯and he who keeps good things going is an often unheralded hero that we are deeply indebted to.