Good Boy, Good Man

In my mind, it's not a huge leap from a good boy to a good young man, or from a good young man to a good man. I don't know whether you'd put an 11-year-old with the boy group or the young men group, but the 11-year-old who wrote this letter to Sports Illustrated is definitely good.

When I read that letter this morning, I felt my faith in humanity being restored. I knew when I read this that there are good young men out there, and they're going to grow into good men, and they're going to change the world. If I'm ever in the position where I can hire the man who wrote this, I will, because I know that he has a great deal of moral courage and virtue. The world needs more young men like him.

Something I find especially impressive about this young man is something he mentions almost in passing. "I even wrote a speech for school that encourages boys of my generation to be gentlemen." "Boys of [his] generation" are a bunch of 10-to-12-year olds. A boy of age 11 (or younger!) wrote a speech encouraging other boys no older than he is to rise up and be gentlemen. I don't need to say that this young man will change the world. He's already doing it.

Unfortunately, I don't think Sports Illustrated will respond to this letter. It would be great if they did, but they won't. Personally, I think this letter would be a thrilling success if people started to emulate this young man. He wrote a letter voicing his moral opinions and shared that message with the world. This young man is awesome, and I want to be more like him.

I am fully convinced that this young man is going to grow to become a great man and that he'll do great and good things. His father is a good man, and his children will likely be good men and women, too. It's true that evil is spreading in the world, but good is spreading, too. This young man is playing an active and powerful role in the promotion of good. He is doing what I want to be doing. If he were any older than I am, I'd say that I want to grow up to be like him. But he is living proof that you don't have to grow up to be good. He's not a man yet, but he's a good young man, and he'll become a good man in time.

I'm glad he's a part of the rising generation, and I'm glad that he's changing the world.