A few years ago I was flying from Atlanta to Pittsburgh and while waiting at the gate, a squad of kids returning from Iraq checked in. As they boarded the plane, every first class passenger gave up their seat. The numbers worked out perfect. It was the kind of thing that restored your faith in people. I complimented one of the previous first classers who sat by me near the back of the plane and he threw up his hand saying, "It's nothing".
You see that kind of thing in simple every day life, more so than formal "recognitions". A kid gets a certificate from school, something like, "This recognizes Johnny as having perfect attendance..." They refer to it as recognition, and maybe it is on some level, but true recognition is understanding what the effort entailed to achieve the goal. The child is not being rewarded for a number, but rather for dedication that it took to get up every morning in all kinds of circumstances to achieve the number.
We "recognize" the achievements of historical figures by erecting monuments to their memory, and that's fine. But to truly honor them we need to recognize what they were about. It would be tragically ironic to visit the grave of Chief Sealth, comment, "Nice job dude" and drop a candy wrapper on the ground.
Anyway, I'm making the effort I hope, trying to realize what people I love and respect have lived their lives for. My niece is celebrating a birthday this weekend and I'm going to hug her and thank her for her smiles. Being 6, she's liable to reply, "OK, where's my present" :P
