Last week my husband and I attended a performance of Mister Roberts at the Omaha Community Playhouse. I’ve seen bits and pieces of the movie with Henry Fonda and Jack Lemmon but never enough to understand the story. As I left the theater I realized what a perfect example of how our choices affect our character.
Mister Roberts is a favorite officer aboard a Navy supply ship during WWII. He longs to transfer off the ship to one that is in the thick of battle because he feels he has little influence on the war. To his men he is a hero because he’s the only person who actively stands up to the ship’s over-bearing and slightly psychotic Captain. I don’t want to give away the end of the play, I highly recommend you attend it if you live in the area, but suffice to say that Mr. Roberts learns that true heroism occurs by the little sacrifices we make daily to help others.
Throughout the play we also glimpse the background of the Captain and see that because of his background; coming up from the working class and never going to college; he has become bitter and resentful of those he feels belittled him in his past. The Captain has chosen not to see the good in Mr. Roberts, but only the perceived slights that men like him have given him in the past.
We have choices like these to make in our own lives. We can choose to hold grudges against people for what they’ve done to us or we can let anger go and judge each person on their own merit. Like Mr. Roberts we can look for honor in service elsewhere or we can see it right where we are. Each day offers us the opportunity to serve others, in our families, at work, at school, in our neighborhoods. We shouldn’t have to have the acknowledgement of the press or awards to motivate us; but the knowledge we’ve made someone else’s life a little easier should be our only reward.