What a Wonderful World?

The song ‘What a wonderful world’ was written in 1967 by two American song writers, Bob Thiele and George Weiss, specifically to be sung by Louis Armstrong.  Thinking of the troubles around the World today, those of us who are old enough to remember 1967 may look back on that year with some affection.  But actually, we are looking through rose-tinted spectacles.

In 1967, the Vietnam War was ongoing, the 6-day war took place in the Middle East (and we are still witnessing the violent ramifications of that to this day).  In the USA it was called the ‘long hot summer’ of racial unrest, with many killed and arrested.  The Apollo space missions had a terrible start with the explosion of Apollo-1 and the death of all three astronauts.

But, against this backdrop, what Bob and George wanted to write was a song that brought hope and optimism to those who heard it.  They wanted the song to celebrate all that is good in the world – particularly the beauty of nature and the basic kindness and generosity of people.  This is discussed in more detail by Brad Montague in his online blog ‘The Enthusiast’ under the title “The true story of ‘What a Wonderful World’” (https://bradmontague.substack.com/p/the-true-story-of-what-a-wonderful).

One day, my wife Sue and I were sitting outside a café in Hornsea on the coast of East Yorkshire having a drink.  I looked up and saw that a man had tripped and fallen on the pavement.  Immediately, several passers-by rushed to help him – getting him back on his feet and checking he was not hurt.  As he was rather ‘shaken-up’, he and his wife came and sat at the table next to us.  The waitress brought him a bottle of water but wouldn’t let him pay for it.  His wife turned to us and said she was surprised how many people (strangers to them) rushed to help her husband.

Should she have been surprised?

A while go I read the book ‘Humankind – a hopeful history’ by the Dutch historian Rutger Bregman.  This is how he introduces the book:

“This is a book about a radical idea. An idea that’s long been known to make rulers nervous. An idea denied by religions and ideologies, ignored by the news media and erased from the annals of world history. At the same time, it’s an idea that’s legitimised by virtually every branch of science. One that’s corroborated by evolution and confirmed by everyday life. An idea so intrinsic to human nature that it goes unnoticed and gets overlooked. If only we had the courage to take it more seriously, it’s an idea that might just start a revolution. Turn society on its head. Because once you grasp what it really means, it’s nothing less than a mind-bending drug that ensures you’ll never look at the world the same again So what is this radical idea? It is – that most people, deep down, are pretty decent.”  (Bregman, Rutger. Humankind: A Hopeful History. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.)

In the book, Bregman gives many factual examples that support his ‘radical idea’ (as he calls it), and that challenge the common belief that, deep down, most people are pretty rotten.

A striking example is provided by a real life ‘Lord of the Flies’ situation.  In that famous book by William Golding, a group boys, marooned on a deserted island, quickly shed their supposedly thin veneer of civilisation, turning on each other with suspicion and hatred, and killing three of their number before they are finally found and rescued.

That is fiction – the reality is very different.  In the 1960s, six teenage boys from Fiji were really marooned on a deserted island for 15 months.  This is what Captain Warner, the Australian seafarer who found and rescued the boys wrote, as recalled in Bregman’s book:

“‘the boys had set up a small commune with food garden, hollowed-out tree trunks to store rainwater, a gymnasium with curious weights, a badminton court, chicken pens and a permanent fire, all from handiwork, an old knife blade and much determination.’....

The boys agreed to work in teams of two, drawing up a strict roster for garden, kitchen and guard duty. Sometimes they quarrelled, but, whenever that happened, they solved it by imposing a time-out. The squabblers would go to opposite ends of the island to cool their tempers, and as one of them later recalled, ‘After four hours or so, we’d bring them back together. Then we’d say “Okay, now apologise.” That’s how we stayed friends.’......

Their days began and ended with song and prayer.”  (Bregman, Rutger. Humankind: A Hopeful History. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.)

In his book Bregman also quotes the following parable of unknown origin:

“An old man says to his grandson: ‘There’s a fight going on inside me. It’s a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil – angry, greedy, jealous, arrogant, and cowardly. The other is good – peaceful, loving, modest, generous, honest, and trustworthy. These two wolves are also fighting within you, and inside every other person too.’ After a moment, the boy asks, ‘Which wolf will win?’ The old man smiles. ‘The one you feed.’” (Bregman, Rutger. Humankind: A Hopeful History. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.)

This is reminiscent of something written by Professor Howard Storm about a transcendent experience that transformed his life from one of cynical, self-centred atheism to a deep and loving Christian faith.  This is how he recounted his discussion with what he perceived as a group of angels:

“‘I can’t go back to the world. The world is full of evil and ugliness,’ I protested.

 They responded, ‘The world has evil and ugliness in it, but there is also ample goodness, love, and beauty if you seek it.’

‘But I saw mostly the bad in people and the cruelty they do to each other.’  I said.

‘You will find what you look for in people and in the world,’ they replied.  ‘If you are loving, you will find love. If you seek beauty, you will see beauty. If you pursue goodness you will receive goodness. What you are inside will attract the same from outside. When you love, love comes to you. When you hate, hate finds you.’ ‘Sometimes people love and they receive hate in return,’ I argued. They replied, ‘Love is more powerful than hate and love always wins.’”   (Storm, Howard. My Descent into Death: And the Message of Love Which Brought Me Back. Clairview Books, 2012.)

So, how do we ensure that we feed the good wolf inside us?  We need help – but that help is close at hand, we only need to ask.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus says, “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If a person remains in me and I remain in him, then he produces much fruit...... I will send you the Helper from the Father. He is the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father. When he comes, he will tell about me.  And you also must tell people about me......” (John 15: 5, 26-27)

Let’s leave the final thought to Louis Armstrong:

“I see friends shaking hands, Saying, "How do you do?" They're really saying “I love you.”