What Are People Good for
？艾娜·科林娜·布朗 / Ina Cqrinne Brown
One’s beliefs are revealed not so much in words or in formal creeds as in the assumptions on which one habitually acts and in the basic values by which all choices are tested.
The cornerstone of my own value system was laid in childhood by parents who believed that personal integrity came first. They never asked， “What will people think？” The question was， “What will you think of yourself if you do this or fail to do that？” Thus living up to one’s own conception of oneself became a basic value and the question “What will people think？” took a subordinate place.
A second basic value， in some ways an extension of the first， I owe to an old college professor who had suffered more than his share of grief and trouble. Over and over he said to us：“The one thing that really matters is to be bigger than the things that can happen to you. Nothing that can happen to you is half so important as the way in which you meet it.”
Gradually I realized that here was the basis of the only real security and peace of mind that a human being can have. Nobody can be sure when disaster， disappointment， injustice or humiliation may come to him through no fault of his own. Nor can one be guaranteed against one’s own mistakes and failures. But the way we meet life is ours to choose and when integrity， fortitude， dignity and compassion are our choice， the things that can happen to us lose their power over us.
The acceptance of these two basic values led to a third. If what one is and how one meets life are of first importance， one is not impressed by another’s money， status or power， nor does one judge people by their race， color or social position. This opens up a whole new world of relationships， for when friendships are based on qualities of mind and character one can have friends among old and young， rich and poor， famous and unknown， educated and unlettered， and among people of all races and all nations.