Of Coffee And Bears

"Grin and Bear It!"

I remember the first time I saw that slogan. It was in a classroom at P.E. Wallace Jr. High, in Mt. Pleasant, Texas. It was the first day of my sixth grade year - when all the classrooms were full of that "new school supplies" smell. (Incidentally, I know they make "New Car" deodorants - does anyone know if the make "New School Supplies" deodorants? I think I would probably buy some.) Anyway, there was a cute little bear in a pink tu-tu, grinning and apparently "bearing" it - whatever "it" was.

In my innocent little sixth-grader way, I hated that sign.

I remember telling my mom about it - and trying to tell her why I didn't like it. I don't think I did a very good job explaining myself. What I should have said was, "Help Mom! They're about to compromise my education in order to induct me into a consumeristic complacency so that I will be trained to be a good American with credit card debt and a new washing-machine, but no hope whatsoever of escaping the rat-race!" Oh, if only I knew then what I know now...

Anyway.

Today I went to Starbucks (Consumeristic Complacency?). Starbucks has been doing this fun little promotion with their cups - they take writing submissions and the winners are printed up on the back of your Caramel Machiatto's container. Thus, you can attain that sophisticated air by drinking coffee and contemplating something deep and philosophical - even if it's only the back of a paper cup.

Anyway, my cup told me today that "the good life" could be attained through compromise. "A little bit passion and a little bit of reserve, a little bit of hedonism and a little bit of holiness..." and so on. I don't remember all of them - and I've since thrown it away.

Once again, I register my complaint. I don't want to grin and bear it. And I don't want "the good life" if the good life is nothing more than "surly contentment", as Chesterton called it. If something is wrong, then by God! Let us be angry! And if something is right, by God all the more, let us party!

There is a principle at work that must be fished out if we are to throw off the horrible restraints of the "good life" and this is it: Loyalty. Again, Chesterton talks of a run-down neighborhood in his time and says that if we have no loyalty to it, then we will walk away from it and leave it as it is. But if we have loyalty to it, we will tear it down with our own hands, only to build it back as the New Jerusalem.

Yes, Mr. Chesterton, but oh, but what a thin razor edge is loyalty - for a slip to either side is destructive. To the right, we will defend the indefensible - a "loyalty" that destroys itself. To the left, we will secretly find pleasure in exposing every flaw - a loyalty that is no loyalty at all.

So this post goes out to JustPat, who was loyal to a run-down, rat-infested three-story and has torn the thing apart with her hands, just to build it back with the glory of a Jane Austin novel.

And to the PickleO's, who were loyal to a church, and ready to tear it down to the ground with their own hands just to build it back with the hope that it would have a shadow of the glory of the Temple.

And let us now just note that it is easier to be loyally destructive to houses than to people.

May our loyalty be ever wise, but never compromise.

Of Coffee And Bears

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