Profiles in righteousness
In 1956, then Senator John F. Kennedy published a book titled, Profiles in
Courage. In it, Kennedy highlighted significant moments of integrity and conviction
on the part of eight senators over the course of US history.
The spotlight of our attention -- whether our individual attention or the popular attention
of a whole congregation, a community, or a culture -- determines our direction. For as
long as we focus our attention on figures who are tragic, deviant, or buffoonish, we lower