<em>"The good die first. And they whose hearts are dry as summer dust burn to the socket."</em>

[caption id="attachment_1214" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Since you went away."]<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/since-you-went-away-4.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1214" title="since you went away 4" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/since-you-went-away-4-300x222.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="222" /></a>[/caption]

The line is from one of my favorite movies, the World War II home-front classic, "Since You Went Away." It's the reaction of a grandfather on learning that his estranged grandson has been killed in battle, from a time when all Americans pulled together for the good of the country and the world.

So whether it's William O. Selznick or Billy Joel, one of the common themes in our culture seems to be that only the good die young. That seems especially true in a world where our political leaders on both sides of the aisle just seem to get sleazier and sleazier. It really does almost seem that we have reached a point in our society where anyone who spends their time thinking about politics is just wasting their time.

But one thing really is true, and that is that we get the government we deserve. We don't keep up with things the way we used to, and too many of us have become selfish and only concerned with ourselves.

Today I was driving past one of the dozens and dozens of churches here in Griffin, and I saw something that really impressed me. Rather than speaking of what God can do for us, it spoke of what we can do for others.

<em>"God helps those who help others."</em>

An interesting thought in these days of selfishness, of Ayn Rand-style Libertarianism. God wants us to be good to each other.

When I was re-watching "Since You Went Away" tonight, I was reminded of the wonderful words written on the tablet of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. Most of us have heard the famous words that make up the last few lines of Emma Lazarus' sonnet, "The New Colossus," but I think the entire 14 lines say something wonderful about our country.

<em>"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,</em>
<em> "With conquering limbs astride from land to land;</em>
<em> "Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand</em>
<em> "A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame</em>
<em> "Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name</em>
<em> "Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand</em>
<em> "Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command</em>
<em> "The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.</em>
<em> "'Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!' cries she</em>
<em> "With silent lips. 'Give me your tired, your poor,</em>
<em> Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,</em>
<em> The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.</em>
<em> Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,</em>
<em> I lift my lamp beside the golden door!'"</em>

I don't know how to say this, but we need to get our country back. We need to regain the feeling that problems are solvable if we can work together. That might mean getting rid of the people who are running things now and letting folks who really care about the common good get to work.

It would help if we realized that how much money we make or how big a house we own isn't really what life is all about. Yes, we have lost too many good leaders -- people who could have made a difference -- who died young. In the end, though, I think where we went off track was when each of us started thinking we were more important than we really are.

The last shot of "Since You Went Away," as the camera pulls back from the typical American home, gives some pretty good advice with a quote on the screen.

<em>"Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord."</em>

We don't need to tell other people how to live their lives, or see God as someone who hates people who don't follow some narrow path. We don't even need to tell people that God is on our side. He isn't.

Abraham Lincoln, another good man who died too young, said it best when he said we shouldn't worry whether God is on our side.

We should be more concerned, Lincoln said, with whether we are on God's side.

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