Two Men, One Name

How many names do you guess there are in America? That would have been easier to answer about 50 years ago, but today parents are giving more unique names to their children and as a result the number of names are growing exponentially.

But there are times when people share the exact same name. There’s a man named Wes Moore who  discovered another man sharing the same name. The only difference is that one Wes Moore is an author, a Rhodes Scholar, combat veteran in Afghanistan and a White House fellow. The other Wes Moore is a convicted killer.

The discovery prompted the Rhodes Scholar to ponder the importance of names. He contacted the Wes Moore in prison and they began communicating on a regular basis.

Stephanie Chen of CNN wrote an article on these two Wes Moores. She notes that there are several studies indicating that names may have a bearing on a person’s life. Some suggest that names can have an impact on academics. Others imply that names can even influence a person’s personal preferences. While these studies are not conclusive, Ms. Chen notes in her article, “One thing is clear: A name is more than a name.”

The Rhodes Scholar was so move by what he learned that he wrote a book called The Other Wes Moore. He explains that his goal in writing the book was not to point to a good Wes Moore and a bad Wes Moore. In fact, if anything, his goal was to illustrate the similarities between the two men. They both grew up in similar neighborhoods, went through turbulent times in their childhood, and were raised by single mothers. They had similar paths that led them to very different places in life.

Although the book begins with their common name, it eventually lands on the importance of a fatherly presence in a child’s life. The author’s father died when he was young but the imprisoned Wes Moore said he has seen his father only a handful of times. He tells the author, “Listen, your father wasn’t there because he couldn’t be. My father wasn’t there because he chose not to be.”

A USA Today article by Dierdre Donohue quotes Roland Warren, president of the non-profit National Fatherhood Initiative, “Fatherless kids have a hole in their soul in the shape of their father, and it leaves a wound that is not easily healed.”

It’s a moving book about the importance of parenting and, yes, names. It’s clear that the author has spent much time deliberating on his life consequences and as a result he says this, “So little separates us from another life altogether.” I think this is true for us all and more than we realize.