Book # 1

I recently finished First Class Citizenship, which is a collection of the letters of Jackie Robinson. The book is edited by Michael G. Long and is published by Times Books.

I knew the obvious facts of Jackie Robinson's life...that he broke the color barrier in baseball and that he conducted himself with great dignity. What I enjoyed in the book was seeing how far his reach was. The book covers letters that Robinson exchanged with a wide variety of public figures, from the time when he began playing baseball through to the end of his life.

One section I particularly enjoyed was the set of letters from 1958, which have been grouped together under the title "Against Patience". Robinson writes to Chester Bowles, the former governor of Connecticut. Robinson writes "This battle for civil rights is taking a definite turn. It's due to the many Chester Bowleses we have around that are not afraid of what the future holds. If we can lick this fear, I am certain we can lick the problem of racial tension."

To me, this is a great and important statement...we can't be afraid of what the future holds. Fear paralyzes us, and fear stops us from changing the world. There's a great teaching by the Chasidic rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, who said that:

The whole world is a very narrow bridge,
a very narrow bridge,
a very narrow bridge.
The whole world is a very narrow bridge - A very narrow bridge.

And the main thing to recall - is not to be afraid - not to be afraid at all.
And the main thing to recall - is not to be afraid at all.

We need to wake up each day impatient enough and brave enough that we say "Today is a day when we can make the world a better place." Make today such a day!