Keep your head up. Walk tall. Show 'em what you're made of. What's another cliché? Oh yes, don't let the bastards get you down.
You know me. Come to me. Take a load off and let's talk. We have plenty to discuss. And if we get bored, we have a library. As the poet said, let's talk about man and God and law.
Hear that music? It's the sound of squeaks and toots and off-key strings. It comes from the band room. It will drown out all the other nonsense. It has actually been a joy listening to those scratches on old violins and blasts from new trumpets all these years. The progress is something to witness. Then a new batch comes in from around town and the scratches and squeaks start all over again. And they always get better. Always.
This is a new(ish) me for you. Only a couple of decades old. Did you know I was the largest and most expensive when I was made? I'm a millionaire! And that's 1920s money.
You know me. And the world knows you.
One day everything will be different. It always is. I can show you a book that proves that people once thought the Earth was flat. They once thought that the gods made thunder. They once believed in evil omens. People do evolve.
Oh, evil is still with us. And will always be. Just as good and right--as God gives us to see the right--will always be with us. You just have to learn which is which. And I'll certainly help with that as the studies go by. How about a philosophy class?
That's the math class over there. Right now it's algebra. The scratches on the chalkboard never get easier to hear. But the lessons are important. One day mankind will use some pretty elaborate math to get to the moon. Oh, yes, one day mankind will walk on the moon. Trust me.
You know me.
The men in uniform are doing their jobs, so just let them. Can you imagine the people around the world talking about you, seeing you in the papers, imagining what your day must be like? You're famous. Whether you like it or not.
This change was in the cards. But it'll be a gradual change. That is, gradual for some, not for you. Nothing will be gradual for you in the years to come.
High school is never easy. It's not even easy on the football players and cheerleaders. All those difficulties that come with being 15 or 16 are universal. Complications and worries. Clothes. Cars. Friends. Enemies. Peer pressure. Hairstyles. Body issues. Oh, yes, and homework. The future.
But you know me. I can help with homework.
This may be the year of our Lord 1957, but 40 or 50 or 60 years will go by like that. And books will be written about you. And books will be written about them. The people who are outside now, jeering, will find themselves on the wrong side of history, should they live long enough. In 60 years, their fellow Americans will look at their pictures and think, "How could they?" And view them with a mixture of pity and vexation.
You? History will vindicate you.
Presidents will cheer you. Governors and senators will sing your praises. Museums will be set up in your honor. Years from now, decades from now, people on color TV will spend hundreds of hours on Sept. 25 to look back at your bravery, and newspapers around the nation will devote column inches and barrels of ink to your courage. It may be hard now--it is certainly hard now--but America will change. And you will be a big part in changing it. Trust me.
You know me.
My name is Central.
Editorial on 09/25/2017