Col. Robert G. Shaw (answering a soldier’s reluctance to lead): So, what do you want to do?
Trip: Don’t know, sir.
Col. Robert G. Shaw: It stinks, I suppose.
Trip: Yeah, it stinks bad. And we all covered up in it, too. Ain’t nobody clean. Be nice to get clean, though.
Col. Robert G. Shaw: How do we do that?
Trip: We ante up and kick in, sir.
That exchange, from the Civil War film “Glory,” captures both the frustration of our present moment and the solution we too often forget. It would be nice to get clean — in our politics, our culture wars, and the partisan rancor that drowns out what really matters.
If you’ve never seen “Glory,” now is as good a time as ever. Telling the story of the Black 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, we learn what truly matters.
Even in the context of slavery — and maybe because of it — the question of what we’re willing to live and die for rises to the surface. Beyond some of the best acting you’ll see from Denzel Washington and Matthew Broderick, you’ll be reminded of the values that helped make America great.
Today, we’re led nationally by folks with compromised values — on both sides. Meanwhile, you, me, our community must, more than ever, remember we’re a civic family of a sort.
We share nearly all the same values in life. Unfortunately, these Santa Clarita values don’t always percolate up nationally, nor are they reflected by the leading actors on our national or state stage.
Here at home, our real, tangible American values are lived out quietly, day after day.
We show them when we stop to help a neighbor, when we donate to a local cause, when we volunteer at our schools, churches, or civic organizations.
We show them when we encourage a struggling friend, when we root for one another’s success instead of resenting it.
We show them when we give, when we extend compassion instead of judgment.
We understand that while everyone has personal choice, that choice comes with an obligation to treat one another with respect and dignity.
True values aren’t about what we claim on social media or shout at political rallies. They’re revealed in how we spend our time, invest our money, and give of ourselves to make life better for someone else.
What some might call sacrifice often isn’t really sacrifice at all — it’s an investment. An investment in people, in dignity, in shared community.
An investment in the founding, bedrock principles that hold us together. Life, liberty for all, and the pursuit of happiness.
Pretty straightforward.
Here in the Santa Clarita Valley, we don’t ignore homelessness, shrug off crime, or let inequality fester. That’s not the American dream, and it’s not the Santa Clarita way.
Instead, we work to prevent those outcomes by lifting one another up before things collapse. We build and manage strong schools, beautiful parks, promote public activities, and encourage civic involvement.
We “ante up and kick in,” as soldier Trip says in “Glory.”
We know we’re all in the same muck of life, and the only way to get clean is to work together.
This is the America I believe in: not the bickering partisanship of Washington, but the neighbor who shows up at your door with a casserole when tragedy strikes.
Not the shouting match on cable TV, but the quiet volunteer handing out food boxes at a local pantry or donating to College of the Canyons or a host of other great causes.
Not the cynicism that says “what’s in it for me,” but the conviction that what’s in it for us — all of us — is stronger, healthier, more caring communities.
We don’t see the SCV — and we don’t see America — as a zero-sum game where the pie is only so large and we’re goaded into fighting among ourselves for scraps. We don’t choose to live in the “winner take all” atmosphere that seems to prevail in Washington today, on every issue, in every vote.
We may not be marching barefoot into cannon fire as the men of the 54th Massachusetts once did. But every day, we have the chance to live by the same spirit: sacrifice, courage and values greater than ourselves.
That’s how America stays strong — not by the self-promoting noise of the few at the top, but by the daily choices of the many right here at home.
If America reflected the spirit of SCV, we’d be great — and getting better.
Yes, it stinks out there sometimes. The politics, the division, the rancor. But the answer isn’t to wallow in it. The answer, just like in “Glory,” is to ante up and kick in. There’s no good alternative.
We either pull together for shared values — or America itself pays the price.
Gary Horton’s “Full Speed to Port!” has appeared in The Signal since 2006. The opinions expressed in his column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Signal or its editorial board.
