Everything in life you need you can learn from George Bailey

Ok I know 'It's a Wonderful Life' is thought of as a Christmas movie. I was thinking about it recently and thinking about the life of the main character in today's world. He would be thought of as out of step today I think. Maybe that is why it is one of my favorite movies of all time.

George spent his life sacrificing for others. He waited to go to college to help his father. When his father died unexpectedly he gave up college to keep the Building and Loan alive and away from the curmudgeon of the movie old man Potter. The day of his wedding the Great Depression hits and he uses his life savings to keep the Building and Loan open again against a bank run. (George had some terrible planning. Every big day in his life has some catastrophe associated with it). Finally on the day is brother is coming home from the war a hero old Uncle Billy loses the deposit and George is on the hook for jail and scandal, and oh by the way the bank examiner is there.

This of course is an old movie and in black and white. George never turned to the government, never whined to the local news or protested his misfortune. When Potter offered him a job to buy him off he stuck to his principles. These are great values that I wish I could say I always espoused. OK I know he is a fictional character and real people don't always do the right thing. I agree with that but fictional characters can set standards for us.

Now for old man Potter. I know people on the left would see him as a Republican conservative because he is rich and mean. While the movie is thankfully non-political I think Potter would have been a liberal if he existed today. Conservatives understand the need for competition. Conservatives understand that you prosper by improving your own products and not by destroying others. Today's liberals are the ones who try to eliminate competition. Campus liberals institute speech codes to keep disagreeing people from speaking. The democratic party has super delegates to make sure the leadership has the final say of who the winner of the nomination is.

In his darkest hour the George Bailey character shows his values. When the angel Clarence is thinking of a way to help George he jumps into the river so George will jump in and save him. This causes George to think outside of himself and his problems and come back to his values, save the other guy first. This is a value we all have inside of us. The character of George shows us how to bring it out. Love and caring for his family and friends ultimately makes him realize that living in scandal or jail is preferable to not living at all.

If I wanted to tell someone how to lead a noble life I would tell them to watch George Bailey. without invoking God or faith the story tells us how to live an ethical and life full of values. A few stories today out of Hollywood would be welcome, but alas not expected anytime soon.