Every now and then, Life presents us with a most majestic moment of moral excellence just as it should be—moral excellence that transcends all those differences which in the end are not definitive of our humanity. In this instance, William Carroll and Evangeline Harper are the two moral exemplars about which I write. 1968, William Carroll transcended race in one way; and in 2008 Evangeline Harper transcended race in another way.
1968, William Carroll crawled through a burning apartment that was pitch black with smoke. He did so in order to find the baby he heard crying. Given the location of the apartment, namely public housing in the Roxbury section of Boston, the issue of the ethnicity of the infant was already pretty much settled: that baby had to be black.
And when he found that baby, he gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in order sustain her life. Thus, we have a white man who in effect was breathing life into a black baby.
Nothing nowadays, no doubt. But this simple gesture some 40 years ago was anything but insignificant. In a most rhapsodic way, William Carroll revealed himself to be a man of deep moral principle. And his behavior reveals what we might call the propinquity of moral principles effect.
Once one is committed as a non-black to doing whatever it takes to find a black life in a burning building, then if one should find that life it is only reasonable that one would do whatever it takes in order to keep that life alive, including mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. As a non-black, it would be incongruous beyond measure to risk one’s life in order to save a life that is black and then balk at giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to the black if that is what it takes in order to keep that person alive.
In 1968, William Carroll did what perhaps some white person or the other would not have done.
Alas, the story has a richness from the other direction. Evangeline Harper learnt that she owed her very life to the valiant efforts of a that white fire fighter; and she did not rest until she found him in order to express her gratitude to him for saving her life—for doing so at a time in American history when some white or the other might have persisted just little less than Carroll did to rescue the infant whom he knew would be black child.
Even when we are merely doing our duty, we can do so with a level of rectitude that commands our admiration and gratitude. Ms. Harper did not lose sight of this truth. Nor, again, did she allow so-called ethnic pride to be obstacle to her expressing her gratitude.
Just as whites can bow to peer pressure from other whites and fail to do the right thing, it is no less true that blacks can bow to peer pressure from other blacks and fail to do the right thing. Regrettably, it is easy nowadays to imagine some blacks arguing “You don’t owe that white man anything given all the wrong that whites have done to black people”. This, to be sure, is a very silly argument. In matters of race, however, we find silly arguments on all sides that grow and persist like weeds.
The just person looks beyond race and not at what most people of her or his race have done or would do. This is very nicely exemplified in case of putting one’s life on the line in order to save another and going out of one’s way to show gratitude toward another.
As is well-known, moral theory does not require that people risk their lives in order to save the life of a complete stranger. And while doing such a thing is often key to becoming a hero or, in any case, having honors bestowed upon one, it is next to impossible to make sense of attaining such things as the motivation for putting one’s very life on the line. After all, the honors and accolades rarely result in a higher standing of living. Being given the key to the city or badge of honor or a marvelously engraved plaque rarely results in a dramatic change for the better in lifestyle.
As for gratitude, if the only reason why a person says “Thank You” is because everyone insisted that the person to do, then that utterance of “Thank You” does not really amount to an expression of gratitude. Gratitude, like love, only works if it comes from the very depths of the soul of person in question. Indeed, expressions of gratitude done only for public attention are about as satisfying as burnt toast.
This gives us the moral beauty on both sides of this wonderful moment. William Carroll did what no one would have criticized him for not doing. Evangeline Harper did what no one would have criticized her for not doing. And at its very best, this is what living morally is about, namely doing what is right when not a soul would think to criticize one for not doing so.
What a different world this would be if only we could count on—not every other person or every 3rd or 4th person so to behave, but merely every 10th person so to behave.
May the lives of Carroll and Harper stand as an everlasting fount of inspiration of the moral majesty of which human beings are capable if only they should keep their eyes on the moral prize.
