Life is troubling. For me, for a high school friend, for a senior citizen, and probably for 9 out of 10 people that you know.
I received an email from my parents yesterday that disturbed me.
They told a story about a gentleman who lives in their retirement community. He lives alone, has cancer, can’t afford medication, and is behind in paying his bills. Why does this story trouble me? Because he decided that his only option was to rob a bank with a shotgun. Maybe, he figured if he goes to prison, he will at least have shelter, meals, and medication.
Is this what has become of our society? Have we really degraded this far, where a man feels his only option to survive is to rob a bank?
I feel sad for this gentleman. I guess enough was enough for him.
However, this story also angers me because our society, this wonderful United States, this land of opportunity, has lost its sense of priorities.
How does a once thriving city, like Detroit, become bankrupt? Why do Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, or the Kardashians get any media attention at all? Why does our government bail out the rich, help finance another country’s civil war, and why does it cater to illegal aliens?
That’s right, I didn’t call them undocumented immigrants. I am not politically correct. I call an economic downturn a RECESSION. I don’t believe children should get trophies for merely participating. There are winners and there are losers. That’s how life is. It’s hard, and it sucks at times.
Our priorities are screwed up.
We glorify professional athletes and call them warriors and heroes.
What about my nephew who is serving his country in the Coast Guard? He boards pirate and drug smuggling ships, facing danger everyday. Or my father, who retired with the highest rank for an enlisted soldier in the Air National Guard. Or my father-in-law who was lucky enough to make it out of the Vietnam War, alive. He doesn’t talk about his nightmares. What about the thousands of soldiers who come home from an overseas tour of duty with PTSD? What are we doing for them?
What are we doing to help one another? Are we doing enough? I don’t think so.
If you are reading these words, you have the ability to make a change in your own community. You can influence a positive change in people. Just one person is enough. They may or may not appreciate it. They may never even thank you. It doesn’t matter. Don’t do it for the praise or the gratitude.
Do something right, because it is the right thing to do.
Maybe, you will find there is more than enough room for change. You may find that a problem doesn’t seem so insurmountable from a different perspective. When we give up, throw our hands in the air, and surrender, we admit defeat.
So please, never say enough is enough. Keep searching for better answers. Keep trying. Keep changing.
Be better today than you were yesterday.
Be Kind. Be Thankful, Be Significant.
