The Eulogy

   The week before last former United States President George Herbert Walker Bush passed away at  age 94. There was a funeral for him at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington DC. The service was televised and also streamed on the internet. Like many people in this country I watched the proceedings.
  Four men were selected to give tributes at this service, Jon Meacham, historian and author, Brian Mulroney, former Prime Minister of Canada, Alan Simpson, former senator from Wyoming and former President George W. Bush, his oldest son. All were excellent speakers and gave their tributes from their varying points of view. 
  One of them touched me deeply and I've listened to it a couple of times. There were many lessons taught during that eulogy that we could all stand to learn and incorporate into our lives. I'd like to focus on the tribute given by Alan Simpson.
  First a bit of background. Alan Simpson is 87 years old. Her served as a senator from Wyoming from 1979 to 1997. He was also a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives. from 1965 to 1977. He first met George H.W. Bush in 1962 when Simpson's father was elected to the Senate and was taking an office that was being vacated by Bush's father. Later the George and Barbara Bush bought a house from Simpson's parents when the Bush family came to Washington after George H.W.  had been elected to Congress. They were friends for many many years.
  There are three things in the tribute I'd like to point out.
   The first one was that Bush was loyal. Simpson recounted a time when he was having difficulties  and his popularity ratings were very low. Bush invited Simpson and his wife to spend a weekend at Camp David. This was a gutsy move for a politician who was enjoying high approval ratings. To Bush, this was about friendship. This was about lifting someone up when they were down. This was about being loyal to friends no matter what.
   Another thing Simpson mentioned was a time when a bill had been drafted that dealt with several critical issues facing the country at that time. It was a good bill and had bipartisan support, but it needed revenue in order to work. To quote Simpson, "revenue. Translated into the word taxes. Translated into the words, read my lips." This was in reference to a campaign promise Bush had made to not raise taxes. The bill passed and the result was the Bush did not win a second term. Bush said, "' When the really tough choices come, it's the country not me. It's not about Democrats or Republicans, it's for our country that I fought for.'" In other words, when faced with a choice where the right thing to do would not benefit him, he did the right thing anyway.
  I've saved what I thought was most important for last. Simpson remarked on two other characteristics of his good friend. One was that Bush never lost his sense of humor. "Humor is the universal solvent against the abrasive elements of life, "Simpson said. The other thing he said was that Bush never hated anyone. I will quote again from this tribute because this is very important. It is something our country as a whole and all of us as individuals need to remember. "Hatred corrodes the container it's carried in." One more time, Hatred corrodes the container it's carried in."
  These are three valuable lessons we can learn from the life of George H.W. Bush. Be a friend to your friends, do the right things regardless of personal cost and never hate anyone. By doing these things we can be the kind of nation that he had hoped from when he ran for President.