Article August 7, 1978 ISSUE

Secure in God

GAY BRYANT

I was browsing through our home file on insurance. Suddenly I was confronted with the question in big, bold letters, "Are you living dangerously?" It was on a pamphlet that depicted a worried man walking unsteadily on a tightrope, balancing himself with a deflated moneybag and an inflated bill bag. The inside pages claimed that illness, inflation, unemployment, could hit at any time and that the best way to protect oneself was to take out insurance coverage with the said company. Only then, it was claimed, would one enjoy peace of mind and a secure future. This depressing picture was something I resisted and challenged right away.

The pamphlet would have one believe that circumstances are beyond the control of average people as they walk a shaky tightrope of daily living. This was nothing but sales talk, and I wasn't going to be duped into accepting it as the norm for myself or anyone else.

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