I Pencil

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I PENCIL

Leonard R. Reed, Author

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        A pencil, a mere pencil. The instrument you write with draw with, and some even chew on it.  Who would even think of a pencil the way Leonard R. Reed did.  Let us dive into it and see the splendor of I Pencil.

        The story of I Pencil breathes of freedom and love.  The writer Leonard R. Reed chose a simple pencil.  It’s not every day that you think about how a pencil is made.  You do not concentrate on the complexity of its engineering process, nor do you consider the components that make up a pencil. What you see is mere lead and wood.  Had reed chosen a bus or plan, ewe would think differently. Because people would think about how complex it is to construct such an object or objects.  

        There are many industries involved in the making of a pencil, and they are: loggers, rope manufacturers, those who make the saws, railroad workers, train car builders, railroad construction workers, and those who operate the trains to get the logs where they need to be.  The mill is also an intricate part of the pencil manufacturing.  The pencil mill is where the pencil is developed.  Within this mill, you need people to run he many sections.  Some of those people insure that electricity and heat are in the mill, more importantly the people who built the mill where the pencil is made.  This is only a fracture of the effort and people it takes to make a simple pencil.  With this there are thousands of people involved that are instrumental in the construction of one pencil.  How amazing.  

        The main aspect of this is productivity.  Everyone has their own jobs to do, such as the cutting down of the tree, but this is not just about one things, but about the whole pencil.  Separately and the items to make up a pencil are fine, but collectively, the make up the desired product.  Each product that each person makes separately gets traded for something else in order to construct the entire pencil.  Not one person knows exactly how a pencil is made, because each person has his or her own part to construct.  Believe it or not, coffee is an important part in making pencils.  

        Of the countless number of people that it takes to make a pencil, there is one thing that the all have in common.  That commonality is their personal incentives.  Of the people that it takes to make a pencil, not one of them has the concern of obtaining a pencil, they are doing this because the want a reward.  This reward can be in the form of praise, money for other goods and services.  These people ae doing this to get something.  The people that live in Mexico and make candle wax are not concerned about receiving a pencil, their concern is with feeding their families.  Would you be worried about a pencil if your family was starving or homeless.  This is directly related to the teaching that if a person puts in the work, they will get a reward.

        The lesson that Reed is trying to convey is that we have the capabilities of doing things on our own.  They do not need the government to intervene and tell them what to do every minute of the day.  It is true, the government should be there to serve and protect us and our rights, we will continually work in order to obtain our goals and receive incentives.  This is done because they want what’s best for their families.  This assist us in realizing that we are giving governmental entities way too much control and power.  This world would not fall apat if the government would lighten up a little bit.  

        Reed goes on to talk about “No one knows.”  This is profound.  He was speaking of just like no one person knows the entire make-up of a pencil, this is true for human make-up of a person.  Each individual is crafted and made in their own shape, form and fashion.  Although we have twins, no tow people are alike.  The same for a pencil.  

        As with the pencil, we are all a geographical make-up of many times, places and things.  God created us in His image and after His likeness, yet, He created us all differently.  

        Look at a pencil, and think about what it is made of. You guessed it, wood.  Where does wood come from, a tree. Who made the tree?  God.  God is the only person who can take nothing and make something.  He is the only one who can make a tree.  Man can make air, but man can’t make it blow. Man can make a heart, but man can’t make it beat.  Only God can do these miraculous things.   Guess what?  He made you and I and that in itself was a miracle.  

        After reading this and then begin talking about it with another classmate I saw two different sides.  One of those sides is one that is contradictory and the other is profound. Let us talk about the contradictory side.  To me it seemed as if Reed was trying to put people down. He had the voice of saying that we alone can do nothing and that people were slow and hard to comprehend.

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