228. True Grit

"You must pay for everything in this world, one way and another. There is nothing free except the grace of God,"

- Mattie Ross, taken from the film True Grit (the superior 2010 Coen version)

There isn't. There are no free lunches. Everything comes with a price. Like our determined protagonist finds out by the film's end. And though she refers to Rooster as the one with "true grit", the viewer is left with no reservation of whom the film's title refers to.

It takes a special breed of people. To go beyond the call of duty, and to do what's right. With no regard for life and limb, only holding unto truth and a steadfast belief in something more than themselves.

We're seeing it day and night throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa. People rising against the might of their oppressors. As history is apt to show, the will of the people shall not be swayed by the corrupt few.

In Japan, a group of dedicated workers at the Fukushima plant are perhaps serving answering the call of duty one last time. They put themselves in harm's way with no regard for their health. Some surely will perish. Some sooner, some later. All are at risk to cancer. All are aware of the danger, yet they still forge ahead.

That is true grit. If only we could more often measure ourselves against this kind of strength, rather than the strength that power and money brings.