PROMETHEAN ANTAGONIST

'Still in semi-non blogging mode and probably won't be back to any routine for several weeks ('gotta buy a new computer and tune it to my liking). For now a brief expression of belief by another.

I've always loved the following quotation by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. It's on a plaque at Rockefeller Center in New York City. I saw it in person for the first time when I was rather young but it still resonates with me for it's simplicity and grandeur. Of course many of the values stated are despised by those who hold substantive character in disdain and would prefer a world with all the opposite of what is stated here. Rockefeller was also a dreaded capitalist so anything he had said would be held in contempt by some on that account alone.

“I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I believe that every right
implies a responsibility, every opportunity, an obligation; every
possession a duty.

I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that
government is the servant of the people and not their master.

I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the
world owes no man a living but it owes every man an opportunity to
make a living.

I believe that thrift is essential to well-ordered living and that
economy is a prime request of a sound financial structure, whether in
government, business or personal affairs.

I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man's word should be
as good as his bond; that character-not wealth or power or position-
is of supreme worth.

I believe that the rendering of useful service is the common duty of
mankind and that only in the purifying fire of sacrifice is the dross
(waste matter) of selfishness consumed and the greatness of the human
soul set free.

I believe in an all-wise-and all-loving God, named by whatever name, and
that the individuals highest fulfillment, greatest happiness, and
widest usefulness are to be found in living in harmony with His will.

I believe that love is the greatest thing in the world; that it alone
can overcome hate; that right can and will triumph over might.”

-- John D. Rockefeller Jr.

# posted by Promethean Antagonist @ 10:37 AM