American folklore and culture is full of proverbs and other
wise sayings. I’m not talking about Biblical Proverbs but wise sayings that use
interesting word pictures to communicate a message. I love quoting them when I’m
asked for advice…or even if I'm not asked.
Last week I wrote about Ben Franklin’s proverb about vinegar
and honey. This week I heard someone say “It’s better to be a live coward than
a dead hero.” I disagree. Nothing
inspiring has ever been done by someone afraid of failure. It is such a small
way to live. As Patrick Henry, the
famous statesmen once said, “Give me liberty or give me death!” I feel sure the late Statesmen would’ve been
appalled at a proverb calling us to cowardice. Likewise, no one has ever said “I was so
inspired by your refusal to act.” Or “I’m so proud I stood by and did nothing!”
What would we think of Victoria Soto, the
teacher at Sandy Hook, who died shielding her students, if instead she had climbed out
of a window to save herself and left her students inside to face the gunman?
So what about “Better safe than sorry”, “ Make love not war”, “Time heals all wounds”, "He who hesitates is lost” or “ If you can’t beat ‘em,
join ‘em.” Are these good proverbs? Are they right sometimes and wrong other
times?
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