20 One Man

Track 20 One Man’s Letter of Hope [2:12] Written by Sey Chassler

[Music: Evening Shadows by Ron Cooley] (SESAC) Spoken by Frank Trujillo

I kneeled…to watch a colony of ants coming out into the sunshine to do its work together. How simple, I thought. What if people helped each other like that? I knew then what to say (to my grandchildren).

Each of us in the world is part of the others in the world. What happens to each one of us happens to the others of us. We must, therefore, stop thinking about life as some kind of contest to be won but as important work to be done together with our fellow human beings. What work do we need to do? We need to see that we are all adequately fed, housed, educated and in good health. We need to help each other and make sure that we each have jobs and ample opportunity to improve our lives. We need to work together without regard for the color of anyone’s skin, the nature of anyone’s religious or political beliefs, anyone’s gender or sexual practice, the sound of anyone’s name or language, or the nation in which anyone was born or lives. We need to eliminate hunger, ignorance and oppression. We need to be engaged in making life better—and leave the taking of it to the power that gives us life in the first place.

Track 20 Notes One Man’s Letter of Hope (excerpt), by Sey Chassler, Copyright © 1986. The article To My Grandchildren: One Man’s Letter of Hope appeared in Parade Magazine on December 28, 1986. We are indebted to Natalie Chassler for her generous permission to use this compelling piece—words written by her late husband, Sey Chassler. The producers of this project consider Mr. Chassler’s “letter” to be a genuine American classic. Thank you, Mrs. Chassler, for allowing us to share these important words in this fashion. Special thanks also to Mr. Larry Smith, Managing Editor of Parade Magazine, and to Patty Vento, Assistant to the Managing Editor. Reprinted with permission from Parade, Copyright © 1986.