Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Remember: ‘This too shall pass’

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, Sept. 5, 2002 | 8:14 a.m.

A crotchety old uncle of mine tossed off calamities of any kind with a terse, "The world is going to the devil in a handbasket."

I thought of him as I read a recent newspaper. Some of the headlines and stories were concerned with the West Nile Virus, two sheriff's deputies who were shot and killed, scandals continuing to rock the Catholic Church, dozens killed as a boat capsized on a river in India; two Americans killed in an ambush in Indonesia, unemployment on the rise, a pending war with Iraq, AIDS devastating South Africa, deadly typhoons in Korea, landslides, monsoons and explosions adding to the chaos in Nepal, six men sentenced to death for rape in Pakistan; carnage on the highways continues as local teenagers killed in a crash, children being abducted almost on a weekly basis, global warming being ignored, polluting of our rivers, lakes and ocean shores; the ever-present threat of terrorism, continued violence and death in the Middle East, huge companies declaring bankruptcy and dozens of ethnic wars being fought all over the globe.

The list of depressing stories and headlines could go on and on, causing one to, almost, believe the world is going to the devil in a handbasket.

If that were true, pessimism would reign. But if there is one thing I have learned in my many years on this good Earth, it is the absolute truth of the expression, "This too shall pass," which has been credited to great religious leaders and philosophers of the past.

In a speech made Sept. 30, 1859, President Lincoln referred to the phrase in this way:

"It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence to be ever a view and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him with these words: 'And this too shall pass away.' "

As we face whatever catastrophe nature or man brings upon us, we must remember, "This too shall pass."

Wayne Anderson, a former president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, once spoke about the value of an optimistic outlook.

He said: "We tend to be pretty hard on ourselves. We seem to focus our energies on doom and gloom; we wring our hands and look back on how it used to be, rather than blinking our eyes as we peer into a brightness of our future.

"I suspect if the light bulb was invented tonight, tomorrow's lead story would be, 'The candle industry was handed a setback yesterday.' "

Whatever lies ahead for our nation, remember to keep the faith.

They tell us the "hate America" philosophy is spreading, even among our so-called allies. It's really nothing new. Many of us remember 30 years or so back when the phrase "ugly American" was quite common.

A psychology professor I once knew taught the students that if you wanted to make an enemy of someone, just get them obligated to you.

Could that be why countries that have received millions of dollars in foreign aid have turned gratitude into hate?

If so, it might be a good idea to use those dollars to solve some of the problems plaguing the United States.

When citizens of foreign nations burn our flag and shout, "Yankee, go home," perhaps we should.