Farewell to Aubrey and Maturin (or Where have All the Christians Gone?)

Today I finished the final (unfinished--heh, there's a zen puzzler for you) story in the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. After 21 books, it's like saying goodbye to old friends. It's an epic storyline containing some of the best characterizations I've read. The world O'Brian creates (apparently a quite faithful representation of life 200 years ago) is engrossing. While under the thrall of the books, I feel like I belong in that time, and I never fail to be shocked by our own world when I emerge.

As I finish it, I guess it's time to ask the question that has nagged at me ever since I first picked up Master and Commander: Where have all the christians gone?

First, a few definitions since the terms I wish to use here have been out of use for decades if not centuries. A christian, herein, is an upstanding person who always thinks of others and acts such as to never offer offense, clears up any offense that may have inadvertently occurred, and in all things seeks to maintain civility. A christian person does not necessarily believe in Christianity any more than a spartan person comes from Greece (the missing capitalization is intentional and meaningful).

A scrub is a generally disagreeable person who tends to aggrandize himself, his friends, or his cause at the cost of "common" civility. A scrub doesn't necessarily hang out of the passenger side of his best friend's ride, but he may. The primary marker is a disregard for others' feelings.

A blaggard is worse than a scrub in that he tends to be openly hostile and will retaliate to any perceived slight. Think of blaggards as scrubs-squared.

Reading O'Brian's books, you quickly become overwhelmed with how polite everyone is to each other. When people disagree, they don't shout or fight, trying to force the other to accept their side. Only scrubs and blaggards do that: scrubs turning every conversation into a debate, and blaggards seeking to destroy anyone they cannot sway.

Ultimately, the difference between our world and the world of 1814 is that there are increasingly few christians, while scrubs and blaggards are increasingly plentiful (just watch TV, read a comments section online, or talk to a coworker . I don't hold myself up as an example people should emulate. While I'd like to say I'm a christian, and I do have my moments, generally I'm a scrub.

An example (not a great one, but the first that comes to mind because it's what made me look at myself): In several instances in the books, someone will approach another with news such as the fort will return our salute. The person receiving the news has already learned this from some other source. In such a situation, the first words that would come from my mouth are, "I know." However, in every such situation, Jack Aubrey would reply something to the effect of "That's good news. Thank you."

A small example, but let's look at it. "I know," is brief and moves the conversation on to new ground where perhaps the messenger might tell you something interesting. However, place yourself in this scene as the messenger. You are bringing a message that your friend, boss, etc. has been anticipating, only to find you have been pre-empted. Your message is dismissed. The wind goes from your sails, and you are no longer the bearer of good news. You're last week's Tribune. This is a scrubbish thing to do to someone.

On the other hand, "That's good news. Thank you." takes a few more seconds. Ultimately, in the course of conversation-time, it is the same. The conversation ends in the exactly the same place, but the messenger feels good. Does it matter that his news wasn't fresh? This response is gracious. It's receptive. It's civil.

Acting like a christian is a matter of getting along. It means seeing the compliment someone wants to receive and giving it. It's recognizing that nothing you believe in is so important it's worth being a scrub over, let alone a blaggard. It's being the change you wish to see in the world.

Really, where all the christians went should be obvious. The key to acting a christian is recognizing the humanity of those around you. Increasingly, our society bowls alone. The internet is a wasteland of incivility and blaggards (we call them trolls) largely because the people with whom you interact are not really people to you, they are a block of text on your screen. Road rage flares most when you look at the drivers around you and see cars instead of people.

Have you ever been mad at the maneuver someone did around you only to recognize them as someone you know? The anger melts away and is replaced by pleasure at the anticipation of the ribbing you'll give them next time you see them.

Thus, as I say farewell to Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin I will miss my frequent dips into a world where people are polite. It's not a utopia where all people drink coke and dance on a mountainside. There are fights, disagreements, and arguments. In fact, the first scene in the series shows their meeting wherein they nearly come to a duel over a disagreement over how they enjoy a concert. Jack tells Stephen where his hotel is so Stephen may find him later and demand satisfaction.

When Stephen arrives the next morning to ask forgiveness for acting the scrub, Jack invites him to breakfast, and they come to know each other. Their adventures go on fill 21 books.

And that's really it. A christian isn't someone who never acts like a scrub. They are those who recognize their inner scrub and make amends when it gets out. They are those to whom civility is ultimately more important than their own pride.