Running for Your Life: Robert Bolt’s “A Man for All Seasons”

And so our arts education resumes.

What stirs in the ungiving heart but a cold draft and here is what Sir Thomas More, the Man for All Seasons, will not forfeit: the dignity of his faith, private beliefs vs. public duties.

The message here is that strength and honor come from an intelligent, consistent belief in society. That a selfless approach to life – insert golden rule here  – for want of a better term this time of year is the Christmas spirit (leave irony at the door, for once).

It is, hopefully, a time for a revival and renewal, to consider the greats of moral strength and duty who do the right thing. How actions that are driven by a selfless consideration of others are not to be seen as weakness. Rather it is to be, in the language of Trump, the bully of a compassionate heart.

As an example, consider the splendid humanity of Bolt’s “A Man for All Seasons.” A universal lesson that these days seems drowned out in a society that values power at any cost.

Obviously, the glory here is not the physical. Sir Thomas More is beheaded for his steadfast unwillingness to renounce his faith. Here is the grander spiritual victory.

More becomes a symbol of pure resistance, the saint for not just this season of hate and tweeting discontent, but for all seasons.


Next: Running for Your Life: Think Different Again