BFTP: The Man In Black
Photo by Heinrich Klaffs
10 years ago this month I was taking a Rhetorical Theory class and I had to write a sample eulogy as an assignment. Since he was on my short list of personal heroes, I decided to write my assignment about Johnny Cash.
Here it is, with out any touchups or changes. The last paragraph isn't part of the eulogy, but a brief explanation I left in.
Shane Rice September 24, 2003 Thought Piece #4 A Eulogy for the Fallen
Everyone knows the life of the Man in Black. He lived his life before the masses, watched by the eye of all who would see. His ancestors came to this land long ago, from a land long forgotten, replaced with a love for their new mother. Common folk, their names have been forgotten. Coming to this country, they found themselves aliens in this new land; they went and did the work no one else would. Finally they could escape the memory of who they were and find the place for their future. Their memory is carried by their descendants, wondered at by every generation. Instruction is handed down, given to each new child, a birthright of which to be proud. A hard life only draws out the nobility in the blood of the common man. The work of their hand doesn’t callus their hearts. A neighbor in need has that need met. A stranger has a meal. Their land was their solace. For so long they had been denied the bounty of its fruit, that to be separated from their own land was a nightmare from the old world. The men were trained to get what they needed from the land. They built their homes with their own two hands. They were beholden to no one, and wouldn’t dream of holding another man down. The man before us was like these men, but different in a way. His struggle wasn’t against the land, the rising river or the shackles of a forgotten world. His demons were his own and he fought them the only way he knew how, tooth and nail. With the help of the Lord, he conquered those strongholds and resisted temptation. His legacy will be the music he made, that reminds us of harder times. Reminds us that we can beat back whatever trouble comes down our road. The Man in Black, honor his memory by remembering his life.
The style of eulogy recited by Socrates seems very foreign to the modern mind. When we mourn our dead today we focus on their individual accomplishments. The Greeks were concerned with the deeds of their ancestors. The greatness of their city-state seems to be paramount in their remembrance. The sacrifice made by those from the present added to the sacrifice of the past and credited to their children. The bloodlines of the dead ensure the standing of the living. In our culture we value individual purpose and achievement much more than we value the ties of association. In writing this, I placed value on things that the Greeks found abhorrent. No Greek would take pride in being an immigrant, but we are a nation of immigrants. To mimic their style, I had to be sure to place value on those things that we pride in America. Even more so, I felt the need to value those things I feel like the person remembered would value. As we remember, we strive to capture the life of the person making one more lasting memory.
