True Love and the Titanic

(All material on this post is copyrighted 2007 by Tai Polczynski and may not be used in whole or in part without written permission from Tai.) This is my Original Oratory for this year's NCFCA season, and my mom suggested that I post it on my blog (plus I thought you might like to read through it)...so here it is: All quotes are taken from the testimonies of actual survivors of the Titanic disaster as recorded in "The Sinking of the Titanic" Memorial Edition, published in 1912 - the same year that the Titanic went down. Seldom was ever a braver battle fought; seldom was inevitable death embraced so nobly; seldom was love for those they cherished so tenderly displayed, as when the cry went up, "Women and children first!" that cold night on the Titanic. April 14, 1912 was drawing to a close. It had been a beautiful day, and it was now a still, peaceful night. Inside the Titanic lights were still ablaze, and laughter filled the air. The Titanic's engines roared and the propeller blades churned the water faster than usual. The officers smiled about today being the day when they would, perhaps, break a record...this fast ship full of luxuries. And, yes, a record they made, but one of death and sorrow! But no one could know...so they laughed and danced, not knowing that, in a few short hours they would be parted forever from all that they had known in this life, and would have to face the freezing waters - dark and ominous - the essence of death. Of course, this ship, possessed 15 water-tight compartments, making her "unsinkable" as some said. She could send out sonar signals that could tell her when another ship, the shore or any other submarine object was at hand. A collision bulkhead would safeguard the ship against being flooded with water, should the bow be torn away. She can not possibly sink, thought the owners and the commander and all of the passengers. Yet, someone blundered. And this pride of men, this floating palace struck an ice-berg while speeding through the night at 21 knots, and no water-tight compartments or sonar devices could save her now. What did it matter to the men who stayed behind, or to the women and children placed in the boats - never to see their beloved husbands or fathers again - that the Titanic had Turkish baths, 3 electric elevators, a hospital with an operating room or a palm garden? Did they care about the chandeliers or the silk comforters? Out of all of the luxuries on the boat and all of the comforts that were provided for, the only thing that was inadequate was the lack of life boats. There were enough life boats to carry 1,200 people - but this ship that was the glory of many men was built to carry 3,295 people - far over twice as many as could fit into the life boats! So quickly did the floating palace disappear. It had taken 3,000 men over 2 years to build the Titanic, and had cost about $10,000,000 and yet, it was gone in several hours - sent helplessly to the bottom of the sea. But more impressive than the wasted money and the ill-spent hours of labor, were the men and women on board the ship. There were millionaires and nobles - many of them could have summoned a fleet of ships to carry them wherever they wished to go. These people ranged from William T. Stead - an editor from London, to Isadore Straus - a millionaire - and Colonel John Jacob Astor - a man of millions. Yet all of these men - whether poor immigrants, who had been looking forward to seeing the shores of America - or men of substance to whom many would bow...all of them seemed to know of an honor, a chivalry - a love - that kept them on-board the Titanic as the ladies and children were hurried onto the lifeboats. A nobility which caused them to face death with heads held high, and to give their one chance of survival to their wives, their sisters - ladies whom they had never even met. Their sacrifice could now cause the poorest among them to hold his head high - for he had faced the grimmest thing that man can face - for there is only one chance at life, and he had laid down that precious gift so that the ladies and future generation might live...how many of us, I wonder would be able to give up such a chance, were we given the choice? Young Colonel John Jacob Astor, who I previously mentioned had millions, and had many things to look forward to in life, looked death bravely in the face as he was given the choice between a life of ease, or death in an icy ocean, but life for another. Colonel Astor helped his wife to a place in a boat that was being filled with women. The boat was not completely filled, and no more women seemed to be near it, so the Colonel quietly asked the second officer who was overseeing the loading of the boat, "May I go with my wife? She is ill." The officer agreed. This man who could have had anything that he needed once he reached land, got into the life boat, and this boat was about to be cast off. Then the Colonel suddenly stood up and shouted for them to wait. He had seen a woman hurrying toward the lifeboat. He leapt over the rail and helped her to the place where he had previously been sitting. Mrs. Astor screamed and tried to exit the boat, but Colonel Astor held her back. He gently touched her shoulder, "The ladies first, dear heart." he was heard to say. "I resign myself to my fate." and he then saluted farewell and was not seen again. Another man gave up his place in a lifeboat to his wife's maid. All of the glories and accomplishments of men will fade. Great palaces will someday turn to dust, gold and silver will be lost, and life can be snuffed out like a candle, or can change shape as quickly as a cloud. As many people on the Titanic found out, one minute they had everything, and the next minute, all of their earthly possessions were at the bottom of the ocean, covered in mud - the playthings of fishes. What are we to do with such uncertainty ever near us? With life as fragile as a snowflake - ready to melt away at a mere touch? We surely cannot live in fear, and we cannot hide from pain. We must all face the reality of death someday, but an even more steadfast reality is that of true love...for the only son of God walked this earth in the form of man, teaching us how to live, and then he died a cruel death on a cross - mocked, beaten and despised. But even worse for this only Son of God, was that his Father turned his face away from him, because he took all of our sins on himself, so that, if we trust in him, we might have forgiveness and eternal life. If you are looking for a definition of "true love", then this is it. So, then, we must live, making the most of every opportunity, embracing the love shown to us by God, bringing honor to Him, and putting the interests of others above our own. We can live like the heroes of the Titanic even in the small, ordinary decisions of our lives, when we are given the choice of doing what we want to do, or doing what God wants us to do...it all depends on our choice. I have heard several people say that, "God allows the heat to be turned on to see what bubbles over." These men on the Titanic, through no choice of their own, were thrust into a circumstance where the heat was turned on very "high". It is in these times when we must choose carefully how we will respond...and what bubbles over will often display for everyone to see, what is really deep in our hearts. The men like Colonel Astor showed beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were men of character, for what bubbled over was such humility, self-control, love and that quality of preferring others above themselves. The introduction to the "Sinking of the Titanic" Memorial Edition says, "It was the supreme test, for if a man lose his life he loses all. But, had the grim alternative thought to mock the cowardice of the breed, it was doomed to disappointment. "Silently these men stood aside. 'Women first,' the inexorable law of the sea, which one disobeys only to court everlasting ignominy, undoubtedly had no place in their minds. 'Women first,' the common law of humanity, born of chivalry and the nobler spirit of self-sacrifice, prevailed. "They simply stood aside. "The first blush of poignant grief will pass from those who survive and were bereft. But always will they sense in its fullest meaning this greatest of all sacrifice." These men, who made this greatest sacrifice will no doubt be among the ranks of the few who have loved most passionately, and loved most sincerely...for: "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends." John 15:13