Gratitude, humility and responsibility

First published in the Brunswick Beacon, 10.01.26

We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us — people whose labor, sacrifice and imperfect striving shaped the personal, familial and national stories we inherit. From them we learn three enduring virtues: gratitude for what was built, humility about our place within it, and responsibility for carrying it forward. These are not abstract ideals; they are obligations that bind us to one another and remind us that citizenship is a moral practice, not a performance of grievance. 

Yet in this moment, a new right movement has turned these virtues upside down. This movement replaces gratitude with a brittle sense of entitlement, humility with loud and theatrical arrogance, and responsibility with the will to be in power. This inversion corrodes the civic fabric. It encourages people to see themselves not as stewards of a shared inheritance but as combatants in a perpetual contest for supremacy. 

I feel that it is important to use an alternate vision. As Americans, we would do well to develop a common political vision rooted in thankfulness for what we have, modesty about what we know and duty toward what we owe each other. The virtues of this vision are not signs of weakness. They are the foundations of a society strong enough to endure. 

Sgt. (Ret.) Jeff Eighmy, Vietnam Vet 

Leland