The Man Who Wasn't There
By Daniel L. Bamberg
Daniel@Centrevillepress.com
"Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today. I wish, I wish he'd go away." This is the opening stanza to the poem "Antigonish" written by poet Hughes Mearns.
It has been used countless times in popular culture for it's ambiguous possible meanings. Most notably this verse is re-spun in David Bowie's socially conscious hit song "The Man Who Sold The World." The piece is inspired by a ghost story from Antigonish, Novia Scotia, Canada. It can be adequately used however, just as any interpretive art, to express other ideas.
Baudelaire once wrote, "Let us never forget, when you hear the progress of enlightenment vaunted, that the devil's best trick is to persuade you that he doesn't exist." Many faiths give their own interpretation of the devil. If you read the bible in context there are actually many questions about what the "devil" actually is. Are Lucifer, the serpent, Satan, and the devil the same person? Perhaps this is a question for another time. Personally I think Michael Hutchence of INXS said it best when he sang "Every single one of us has the devil inside." We disguise our "devil" as we flaunt our good deeds. We convince ourselves that our own good can destroy our own misdeeds. Don't lose me, for this is not a biblical lesson.
I often wonder how it is that people who earn millions get off by asking common struggling Americans to donate to charity. How is it that people like actor George Clooney living in a castle in the Mediterranean has the audacity to express that Americans should have been supporting Haiti before the tragic earthquake? I further wonder why we as citizens of the United States continuously pacify our own internal problems but continuously pour out our wallets globally. How is it that this country is in so much debt, but we are statistically leading the world in donations, funding, and recovery efforts? Haven't we paid that debt in more ways than one? It is enough to make a proud American cringe. Don't get me wrong my heart goes out to those people in Haiti. I support every single one of the missionaries who are going over seas to feed the poor starving men and women of that country. It is validated especially considering the wonderful outpouring of missionaries in our own country who continuously reach out to the poor men and women of our own country. Those wonderful missionaries who are in the crack houses of America preaching the word of Christ, they are true blessings. There are many hard working, free loving, and wonderful people of who give within the country often. It just doesn't happen often enough.
Excuses to not support the homeless are regurgitated constantly from the mouths of many of you who sent a ten-dollar text to Haiti over the past few weeks. "Those bums living on the streets inside the land of opportunity just need to get a job." Never mind the fact that the vast majority of them have untreated mental illnesses. Never mind the fact that many landed on rock bottom with no hand to pull them up. Meanwhile we are out saving the "trendy" world cause of the week. It was disgusting to see how many people posted "I donated to Haiti" on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and other means of public display. Charity with a face is for naught.
I once worked for a well-respected man within a community outside of Bibb County. His company donated ten thousand dollars a year to the Children's Hospital. I know this because it was plastered all over the walls of the office building. The check donation was a photo opportunity each year for the local newspaper. When I came to ask for a donation to help an infant relative of mine afford a cancer treatment I was given $50 from his wife. A man making minimum wage working for this same individual gave me the exact same donation. Perhaps had I been working for the Centreville Press at the time and offered the business owner an article the donation would have been larger.
In December we were given a story about a local company, which purchased a large lot of hams to help a community fire department’s fundraiser. He then donated the hams to the needy. I was told to take a photo for the Centreville Press. On my way there I kept thinking to myself, "This isn't charity it’s a publicity stunt." To my surprise the man was appalled that we were notified and I was politely asked to leave the premises. They requested for us not to print the name of the company. That is true charity and it didn't occur in a strange land.
There is a man in this community right now who is very wealthy. His name is not plastered all over the county, though he is very well known. Some sort of donation from his wallet aided nearly everything worthwhile in Bibb County which occurred in most of our lifetime. Yet he does not flaunt his charity nor does he allow it to be public knowledge. I've never met him, and actually missed an opportunity to meet him late last year. I hope to have an opportunity to shake his hand before it is too late. Meanwhile there are others, who I won't mention by name that haven't as much as contributed a worthy advertisement for their community newspaper. They excuse this with remarks about our "high prices." Oddly, the ad space they do purchase seldom is the same cost to them weekly as common man pays for two weeks in the classifieds. Considering these particular people have more money than 99.9% of this county' residents, I find the pinching of President Lincoln's beard extremely repulsive.
Then there are those who oppose gambling due to their Christian faith. My interpretation of what Christ considers gambling is not so easily comprehensive. From my readings of the same savior I have found that Christ saw our excusing of charity somewhat equal to gambling. Maybe I have misinterpreted, but I digress. Every time you have a spare dollar and pass a needy person on the street you are gambling. If that dollar goes to anything you do not need following a confrontation with someone who could make use of it, perhaps it is just as valuable in a slot machine. We all have things we do not need. Extreme capitalism however would suggest possessing such things are our rights. They are not our rights but our blessings. Don't be fooled readers. Few if any celebrity in Hollywood is left of extreme capitalism. You can't live such a lifestyle and not support the Capitalist dream.
In our attempts to dissolve the devil with the "face" of goodness the man who wasn't there is our own humanity. It is hard to give without reward. When most of us see this man we itch for him to go away. "Just let me tell one person." Unfortunately, that one person feeds the man who is always there, the devil inside. That's my opinion and everybody has one.
Please visit again for weekly thoughts that didn't make "Everybody Has One" in a Bibblogger exclusive "Under the Hat," posted every Wednesday afternoon.
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