This past week proved that even in death my grandfather still is teaching lessons that some among us apparently need to learn. I’ll offer an explanation in a moment.

The week started with another showing from the Freedom Line, this time in regard to health care. However, unlike previous protests, this effort was met with counter-demonstrations from some who support proposed health care legislation.

I want to applaud the folks who felt strongly enough about their convictions that they were willing to stand by them in a public setting on both sides of the argument. But at the same time, I want to also boo anyone who chose to take their disagreement with those counter-protesters to a personal level.

Instead of letting their viewpoints determine their dialogue, one or two folks from the Freedom Line resorted to trying to demean and belittle the people with whom they disagreed.

Now, I’ve offered plenty of opinions on these pages through the years that weren’t very popular among some, and plenty of those times, instead of even attempting to disarm my views with educated counterpoints, people who were simply either ill equipped or just too lazy to do otherwise took the easy way out and aimed at me personally.

I’ve been called everything ranging from boring to an intolerant racist to the devil himself (to which a very wise man offered that the person who said as much obviously had poor eyesight or didn’t know their Bible very well, because it clearly states in there that the devil will return as the most beautiful among us, and that clearly isn’t the case).

Personal attacks are the lowest form of retort from people who otherwise can’t defend their own position. I can only hope that if given the opportunity again, those who stooped to such a low stance last week won’t do so again.

It’s like I said on these pages two weeks ago — if you don’t have something constructive to bring to the table of ideas, then please stay out of the mix by just staying quiet.

As has been stated before, also, opinions are much like armpits – every normally has at least one and, regardless of what you think of yours, someone somewhere is going to think it stinks. Everyone is entitled to theirs, and just because you disagree with someone doesn’t mean you have the right to chop at that person’s character.

Now, here comes your explanation:

The week ended with our family memorializing my grandfather, D.C. Duren. About 50 of his family and friends gathered at the Wilson Cemetery to put some closure to his 91 years.

I was given the honor of not only speaking about him, but Risa and I were able to fulfill his last request to us — to play “The Old Rugged Cross” over his final resting place.

As we played that song, a flood of memories washed over me, recollecting the amazing influence he, a most uncommon common man, had on the life I’ve lived here. And it brought to mind something that was a constant in regard to his character: never once did he ever act ugly toward another human being. If he disagreed with someone, he just left them alone, keeping his thoughts to himself and letting those he disagreed with have them to their selves as well.

I think there is something to be said for such, and maybe a lesson some among us would do well to learn.

Funny thing, though, that happened on the way home from the cemetery. Scanning the skies while looking through the car window, I could swear I saw a bald eagle flying high over the highway. I don’t know if that’s possible, but if that was in fact what I saw, I think it is the first time I’ve ever seen one in the wild.

I can’t help but think the two events are somehow connected.

I do know this. In my words I spoke at his graveside about my grandfather, I told the assembled that to my knowledge, he never did anything in his 91 years that any of us had reason to be ashamed of. My challenge to them was to make sure that when we too had “crossed over the river to rest under the shade of the trees” and we would meet our grandfather again, that we had done nothing to make him ashamed of us.

Again, I think there is a lesson there a lot of us should heed. Who knows what times yet face our nation or our community? What we’ve viewed as “hard times” very well might be a mere preview of things yet to come, and being patient will be more important than ever.

Basically, in spite of anything else we feel, we are told by our Creator to love our neighbors. If we can’t do anything else, that much we must do.