One of my all-time favorite books ever written was first published in 1922 by Margery Williams. The book, The Velveteen Rabbit. It is a children’s story that, I believe, was secretly written for adults. What an insidious way to trick adults into reading and thinking about what it means in life to be real, genuine and therefore meaningful! Following is a quote of perhaps one of the most recognized passages from the book . . . the conversation between the Skin Horse and the Velveteen Rabbit on what it means to be REAL! Read along (the bold and italicized lines are my doing for emphasis. I will have more to say soon).
“The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.
“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”
“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”
“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.
“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”
“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”
“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
“I suppose you are real?” said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled.”The Boy’s Uncle made me Real,” he said. “That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.'”
There you have it! The Recipe for Realness! Now if we could just test our current presidential candidates by this Recipe, I think we might discover that few if any truly understand or connect with Real People working to live Real Lives in a Real World!
- You see, Real People are savvy to those who step onto the stage to “boast and swagger and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away.” Too many of our candidates are all wound up in themselves and unable to Get Down to Real!
- Real People understand that Getting Down to Real takes time and vulnerability. It does not happen overnight. Too many of our candidates desire instant fame and credibility without putting in the time to prove their worth.
- Real People know that Getting Down to Real rarely happens to those who “break easily, have sharp edges or have to be carefully kept.” Too many of our candidates nurse fragile egos and demand coddling in the face of tough questions and challenges.
- Real People are aware that people who refuse to Get Down to Real often ridicule those who are unlike they. Too many of our candidates belittle, minimize and marginalize those the purport to serve.
In the end, those who are most likely seasoned and ready for the leadership role find themselves tossed aside as so much rubbish by the public who so desperately needs them.
I harbor no illusion that masses will read this blog post. Heck! It will likely be read in terms of the “tens” at most . . . at least in today’s climate. Perhaps it will find voice sometime in the distant future when our descendants mine obscure little bits of data from the massive mountains of information we leave for posterity . . . perhaps. And yet, I can hope. I can hope that maybe one who has more influence that I will run across this little blip on the screen and realize that those who currently clamor to lead out great nation are little more than toys on a stage, bellowing and belching their often profane and certainly tainted pontifications to win favor with voters and don the mantle of power. Perhaps one with more power and influence than I will decide that it is time to “Get Down to Real” and step forward to truly lead our country toward and into unity, I can only hope
Peace my friends!
