“If you want to believe in something, then believe in it. Just ’cause something isn’t true, that’s no reason you can’t believe in it. There’s a long speech I give to young men, sounds like you need to hear a piece of it. Just a piece. ‘Sometimes, the things that may or may not be true are the things a man needs to believe in the most. That people are basically good; that honor, courage, and virtue mean everything; that power and money, money and power, mean nothing; that good always triumphs over evil; and I want you to remember this, that love… true love never dies. You remember that, boy. You remember that. Doesn’t matter if it’s true or not, you see. A man should believe in those things because those are the things worth believing in.’ You got that?”
-Hubb McCann
Secondhand Lions
This is from one of my favorite scenes from Secondhand Lions. (I actually have quite a few favorite scenes from this movie)
Young Walter is talking to his Great-Uncle Hubb, and he asks, directly, if the stories he’s been told about Africa and Jasmine are true. He’s hungry for something true, because all he’s heard all his life are lies, particularly from his mother. So to believe in his uncles, to believe their stories, to believe… it’s a big step for Walter.
So Hubb, seeing Walter’s vulnerability, his need for truth, gives him this piece of his “What Every Boy Needs to Know About Being a Man” Speech, and it’s very simple: believe.
The world tells you, “Don’t believe.” The world says, “If you believe something that isn’t always true, then you’re a fool.” The world wants to convince us, “Nothing is true. Those old, antiquated, naïve things you were told in your childhood are false, there is no good or decency, only power matters.”
Hubb McCann has been around the world. He’s seen a lot, fought, suffered, and lost precious things. He disagrees with the world. Even more, he knows that without believing in those things the world so readily ridicules, then men cannot be Men, and life cannot be Life.
This tough old man believes in true love, and that is what has always made him strong.
Merlin's Musings 
I haven’t seen that movie, and I have some ambivalent feelings about that quote. People certainly should believe in something which I agree with. I certainly find it hard to believe that good always wins when so many bad people get away with their crimes. That or good people are demonized or falsely accused. With that being said, I want to find as much truth as possible since I’ve been tired when it comes to being lied to.
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It is true, this life is not fair. Bad people may escape punishment for their crimes, and good people are often trampled under. And yet… I am reminded of another quote, from a movie called Man of La Mancha. A man is being told how terrible the world really is, and then he lists the madness, the terrible things, he has seen in his life, and it is not small, yet, in his eyes (not quite verbatim), “And the greatest madness of all: to see the world as it *is,* and not as it *should be.*”
Obviously, I don’t want to advocate taking either quote too far, as everything depends on the balance we find, but I am certain that we must believe in such things, and act on this belief, or what good will be left in the world?
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Yes, and it is beyond frustrating. That’s an interesting quote, too. I don’t want to deny reality, but at the same time I want to improve the world.
I totally understand that. Learning about the lesser known aspects of history has been a big one for me. My upcoming album is actually about various inventors, artists, doctors, innovators, filmmakers, engineers, etc. who have made improvements but never got credit for them. Some of them have even been ripped off and I want to make an homage to those individuals. That’s one aspect I’ve been passionate about for years and I want to honor the real originators in that way.
I need to have something to stand for. I do apologize if some of my comments can come off as depressing or somewhat angry. Those feelings are not towards you in anyway, so let me make that clear. Blogging has been one way to find my voice across multiple blogs in different fields. I hope my beliefs in addition to my actions lead to something better.
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Eh, no worries about your comments. We are all on the journey together. 😉
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Good to know and I hope we can get though this journey in our own respective ways. It’s good talking about the anime and movies we like. I do admit I was kind of surprised not to get any backlash for some of my comments like mentioning uncomfortable truths about history, racism, or even controversial aspects in certain anime or movies.
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I could be wrong, but I think we bloggers have something a more mellow atmosphere around here. 🙂
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I’ve noticed it on WordPress compared to other platforms and certainly more mellow than social media.
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This is a great ppost thanks
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