What Do You Think?

What Do You Think?

By Charles Sandburg

What do you think about these things?

• To GET into the game of life, take chances, make decisions, and keep moving; to cultivate dispatch; eliminate waste, introduce system;
• To ACQUIRE friends with whom you can babble of stars, roses, coffee and the weather; to head for the open country, hills and the free, fresh sun and wind;
• To USE every possible tool and situation for the advancement of The Great Cause; to distinguish between intelligent discussion and futile rag-chewing; to make a slight effort every day or so at inaugurating a civilization that lays emphasis on the soul as the best man;
• To PITY the respectable and satisfies, and see in the heart of the jail-bird your own impulses; to be patient with the stupid and incompetent; and chat reverently with the town fool about his religion; to give and take no job that involves human degradation; to realize that the grafter; the scarlet woman, Rockefeller, Thaw and the one-legged man on the corner selling led-pencils, are each the result of conditions for which all of us are in part responsible;
• To SPELL Art with a capital A and enjoy paintings, poems, stories, statues and the silent benedictions of architecture; to love expression; to know when to behave and when to get reckless and forget that you're a gentleman; to hoe in the garden, split wood, carry out ashes, get dirty and be actually useful every once in a while if not twice; to pray and aspire and build and when you build, build strong;
• To LIVE in a bungalow, with bathrooms, music, flowers, a beautiful woman and children healthy as little savages; to be proud that you're human and aware that it's grand to be human; to help make life a chord of music wherein are blended the notes of companionship, love and ability -- how about these things, Brother?