sing mockingbird, sing.

Atticus said to Jem one day, "I'd rather you shoot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. "Your father's right," she said. "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'"

I'm re-reading Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. I'm enjoying it immensely because it makes me laugh. I've read few books or plays that have actually made me laugh out loud--this one does, constantly. It also paints a sobering picture of life in the South, of prejudice, of justice, of courage, and of character.

I read this story in middle school, but I hadn't realized just how much it changed and challenged me. As odd as it may be, Atticus Finch revealed to me the type of person I wanted to become, and since then, I've held this image of his character and integrity in my mind. I deeply respect Atticus Finch. I remember how overjoyed I was when Atticus Finch (as portrayed by Gregory Peck) was voted "Greatest Hero of Cinema History", as I felt that this honor was earned and rightly given.

This video clip may be one of my favorite scenes in both the book and the movie, so I'd love to share it with you. It's a beautiful scene of something that's incredibly sad. Atticus shoots a rabid dog with one shot, revealing a skill that few people--particularly his children--knew he had. His children marveled at this unknown talent and questioned their neighbor, Miss Maudie, as to why Atticus had never bragged about it. Miss Maudie replied: "If your father's anything, he's civilized in his heart...people in their right minds never take pride in their talents."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7SqwW9l3sc

Atticus Finch was a meek man, a man of controlled strength, a man who practiced humility, who didn't feel the need to live up to anyone else's expectations, but yet earned the respect of all who met him. When his daughter, Scout, tells him that he must be wrong because the whole town thinks he's wrong, Atticus tells her, "before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."He didn't make decisions because of popular consensus, but rather by what he knew to be right. He lived a life of integrity, as can be seen throughout the entire novel. He was simply a good man.

So, I encourage you--read this book. I believe it'll change you, for better. Or re-read a book that you once read and loved...the greatest books teach us something new each time we read them.