Perseverance has always been at the forefront of American virtues. Not all people exhibit this powerful force, but the men and women that do have made a significant impact on the American Society today.
When the going gets tough, the ladies and gentlemen of America get tougher and continue to strive forward so that their dreams become realities. It is for this reason that I believe perseverance is the most important of all American virtues.
The story of the famous Wright brothers is a perfect example to illustrate the preceding point. Orville and Wilbur Wright did not believe the sky was the limit. Orville and Wilbur began building small helicopter-like toys at the ages of seven and 11, respectively, but the bigger their toys were, the less success they had at flight.
As they grew older, the two boys opened their own bike shop and manufactured their own brand, but their dreams of flight had not yet eluded their minds. In 1900, the two resumed their human flight campaign, but this time, they set their sights higher and built large gliders and planes capable of manned flight. Time after time, their planes and gliders failed and crashed without much success.
Several years passed, and the duo still had not much luck; they had every right to give up and pursue something more worthwhile. In 1903, their perseverance paid off and they had their first successful flight, although quite short. By 1905, they had designed a plane capable of flying for 30 minutes.
Thanks to their perseverance, their success continued over the years and they had opened the door entirely for further development of human flight in America, ultimately changing American means of transportation.
A great example of American perseverance is shown in the story of the 1966 Texas Western basketball team of El Paso, Texas. Coach Don Haskins turned the college?s basketball program around by recruiting talented African-American players that were overlooked by bigger colleges because of their skin color.
Over the course of the season, the coaches and players were harassed to no end, but the team stood its ground and did not back down to the trials presented to it.
Texas Western made it all the way to the NCAA championship, where the team played the exclusively white Kentucky Wildcats for the title. According to everyone but Texas Western, Kentucky was going to win it all, but the Miners wouldn?t have it.
Texas Western won the game 72-65, completely changing the role of African-Americans in college basketball. If the team had given up when the country was out to get them, it would have been years before African-Americans were given the same opportunity as whites in college basketball.
The third example I?m going to bring up is the story of one of my personal heroes, Glenn Cunningham. Cunningham loved to run, but when he was young boy, he suffered severe bums on his legs when he was trapped inside a burning school house.
The accident caused inunense damage to his legs, and the doctor told Cunningham that he would never be able to walk again, but Glenn wouldn?t have any of that sort of talk. As soon as he deemed himself able, Glenn would secretly roll out of bed and try to stand.
At first, he failed. But Glenn kept trying, only to fail time after time, again. Glenn kept persevering; he wasn?t one to give up, and one day, it paid off. Glenn got to his feet and stood triwnphantly, until he took his first step and fell right back to the floor.
Eventually, however, Cunningham?s perseverance allowed him to run again, and he became one of the greatest middle distance runners of the 1930s and was nicknamed the ?Kansas Ironman.?
As if becoming a role model for young runners wasn?t enough, when Cunningham retired from his racing days, he started the Glenn Cunningham Youth Ranch in Kansas, where he and his wife would go on to help over 10,000 underprivileged and troubled children.
Nothing worthwhile is going to be quick and easy to do, that is why only people who persevere make great things happen. Without perseverance, it would have been impossible for such a young country as the United States to become one of the powerhouses of the world.
That is why I deem perseverance the most important American virtue.
