Scale and Publicity

Daily writing prompt

Who is the most famous or infamous person you have ever met?

View all responses

Infamy and fame. There’s a contrast. We normally associate them with the acts of the well-known. That Atilla! Oh, that Saint Francis. But fame and infamy frequently depend upon scale and publicity; little is said about the steadfast person who, in numerous small ways, makes a significant impact on their tiny community. Or in opposition to the serial predator who destroys the hopes of generations through selfish and horrendous domestic abuse.

I’ve met lots of saints, and arguably many more sinners. I doubt you’d recognize the names. They include an executive at a company I once worked for who preyed upon the young women he hired. On the opposite side of the ledger was a woman who selflessly fed all who came to her door for many years. We focus too much on the big numbers and publicity, and not enough on the particular and local. But it’s the particular and local that have a significant effect on us and our communities.

In my own life, I’ll never forget the people who drove hundreds of miles out of their way to get me to a destination, and then slipped a fiver so I’d be able to eat. And how could I ever forget the “church ladies” who picked me up one stormy night in New Jersey when I was deep in a personal crisis, and prayed for me all through the journey until they let me off in the morning? It’s funny that all these years later it’s them that I remember. Them, not the ones who were cruel or crude. Some of the hurts may remain, but for the most part, they are not the ones I recall, nor the ones I’ll say a prayer for.

It’s at the local level that we can make a difference in frustrating the infamous and supporting those who deserve fame through their goodness.