A Genuine Piece

"The hand-writing of your letter is so miserable, that I am not sure I have made it out. If I have it seems to me you are the same old sixpence you used to be, rather rusty,but a genuine piece."

Snip from a letter Ellery wrote Henry Thoreau, March 5, 1845.

Past, present or future, would you wish to be other than “A genuine piece?” Could we have a higher wish for the world than to wish for a world full of souls who are what they appear to be? The American Soul, if it is left to its honest ability to be valid, is the soul of a simple, hard scrabble, realistic sort who is mistrustful of smooth talk, flowery speeches and fantasy tales. This, of course, is an ideal.

America’s youthful literature prior to The Wizard of Oz, showed little inclination to dwell on the fantastic. Our history displays a pretty hard scrabble people. England is the land of Arthur, Nadia and Lord of the Rings. America is Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, the Bobbsey Twins and, most revealing of all, the Horatio Alger stories of a poor boy who makes good.

Main Street, The Old Man and the Sea, and the Great Gatsby are fantastic only in their desire to find men better than we might think they are and are coupled with the dream that if one does one's duty and lives a clean life, nothing is impossible. All are written as a desire to show men at their peak moments, which might end as a success or failure, but rather what counts is the effort put into the achievement.

Man, as in Ahab and his Whale (Moby Dick), is not always perfect in American literature, but he is dedicated, he is focused and he is a realist. He knows that going after the whale may kill him, and the task itself might make no sense to others, but sail he does, search he does and go to his final task ready and willing – he does.

Yes, we are a gristly sort, even though in past years we have somewhat covered our crusty attitudes with a veneer of continental charm. But let us admit, that when the fleet comes in, it’s all for one and one for all – with the understanding that it is important in that "all", a goodly number must remain "rusty, but genuine pieces." The only question is, can America remain 'rusty, but genuine' in a contemporary world steeped in nuance, deception and self-interest? Or, another question: Is there any other way for us to approach a modern world?