The World Needs Men

As I was sifting through the trash, uh, treasures of my closet, I stumbled upon this relic from my past: a wooden plaque with something written on the sticker paper stuck on the front. If my memory serves me right, this was a graduation gift from a colleague of my mom back in high school. It reads:

The World Needs Men
...who cannot be bought;
...whose word is their bond;
...who put character above wealth;
...who possess opinions and a will;
...who are larger than their vocations;
...who do not hesitate to take chances;
...who will not lose their individuality in a crowd;
...who will be as honest in small things as in great things;
...who will make no compromise with wrong.
...who will not say they do it "because everybody else does it."
...who are true to their friends in adversity as well as in prosperity.
...who do not believe that shrewdness, cunning, and hardheadedness are the best qualities for winning success;
...who are not ashamed or afraid to stand for the truth when it is unpopular, who can say "no" with emphasis, although all the rest of the world says "yes".
...whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires.

...and every day, I try to be this man. Char.