Salt Of The Earth. City On A Hill.

Persistence. Commitment. Determination. Am I talking about the latest multi-million dollar contract signer for whatever sports team is burning up the stats in their field? Am I talking about the latest Rags to Business Riches success story to hit the financial news? Or, perhaps, whatever politician is in the limelight fighting for what they tell their constituents they really believe in. Would you believe none of the above?

You see, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about the everymen out there. The fathers, mothers, construction workers, accountants, etc. who make up part of our world, just everyday folks like you and I. We face our daily struggles and hardships and soldier on. We get knocked down by personal tragedy and we get up and keep moving. And we do it without grasping for that sense of entitlement. We don’t believe that the world owes us something.

My life hasn’t been wine and roses. I haven’t had things handed to me on a silver platter. In fact, some days it seems like I’m trying to ice skate uphill. I’ve lost very close family in untimely and unfortunate circumstances. I’ve been crippled permanently because of a few short moments of high-speed stupidity and overcalculation. I have had people judge me just by sight on a daily basis and decide what I’m capable of without even talking to me. But I continue to get up. I continue to go to work. I haven’t asked for a hand out because life owes me something. I continue to treat my fellow man the way I’d like to be treated. I continue to try and do as I’d have done to me and to contribute what little I can to the society around me.

I am, by far, not the only one in this modern age like this either. Nor am I even close to being an everyday hero like most that walk our streets and work in our workplaces. We are strong, determined, and many. The resilience of the American people continues to boggle my mind and make me proud to live here. The father that barely can feed his family after breaking his back all day, but still manages to love all of his family and keep them together, humbles me. The mother who has had the short end of the stick handed to her almost at every turn in her life, yet still manages to look after her neighbors and care for friends in need, leaves me speechless. We call them the Salt of the Earth, and they are. They add flavor and hope to our dismal present world, and they preserve us, our way of life, and the hope that we will make it as a nation and people to another day. And another. And another.

We will probably never hear about them on the evening news, because a man that provides for his family and DOESN’T leave them isn’t “good copy”. Nor is the couple that has managed to stay married and raise well-disciplined kids, even though they don’t have much. But these everyday heroes are out there and deserve a moment’s thought and a quick prayer to God as thanks. They are the glue that holds us together and the cogs that make the machine work. They are the ordinary heroes whose main virtue is that they never stay down when they fall. They get back up and keep walking on. There will be no parades in their honor, but they are the heroes of this day and each one that comes after it. May we never forget them and always honor them.

-JesseW.