I was struck by a passage in Thomas Merton's autobiography, Seven Storey Mountain. He says,
There was a great deal of simplicity about [my grandfather]. It was a
simplicity and ingenuousness* that belonged to his nature: and it was something
peculiarly American. Or at least, it belonged to the Americans of his
generation, this kind and warm-hearted and vast universal optimism (p176).
*Here's the definition. I had to look it up to make sure I knew it. Ingenuousness: 1. free from reserve, restraint, or dissimulation; candid; sincere. 2. artless; innocent; naive.
Merton was writing about his grandfater who lived through WWI dying in 1936.
I wonder what the nature of the American people is today? I wonder if it has changed sinced the 20's and 30's and how? It's hard to qualify, but I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts.
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