Our Loans to Repay…

Happy Memorial Day in advance everyone!  

Next Monday is an occasion to celebrate America - our America - our nation of great opportunity and great diversity.  Even though we Americans are addressing many difficulties, Monday is a day to celebrate our blessings and our future possibilities.  

On any other day, it’s easy to get mired in everything that’s wrong with America.  What concerns you the most? Covid 19?  The economy?  Health care?  World peace?  Lots to complain about, true? 

Conservation of our Earth for future generations is another difficulty - and a hotbed of debate.  Nothing new about this however; it is a topic dating back to our country’s original landlords: 

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors – we borrow it from our children.  

Native American proverb 

Do you believe we’re experiencing (and contributing to) global warming?  If we are, what can each of us do about it?  Will our children feel the same way about lending us their Earth as we do about inheriting the Social Security trust fund from our parents?  (Not much “trust” in the use of that trust fund, yes?) 

Memorial Day is a day to remember and to honor the men and women of our armed forces who have preserved a country where cultures of diversity come together unlike any other place on Earth.  It’s a time to salute our service men and women; present and past; and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our way of life: 

We all benefit today from those who came before us.  But what are we making of our opportunities?  And what opportunities (and debts) will we leave for our future generations?  

In every community, there is work to be done. 

In every nation, there are wounds to heal. 

In every heart, there is the power to do it. 

Marianne Williamson 

Monday is a holiday and a time for celebration not worries; for national pride not fear; for appreciation not anger.  Monday, Americans can celebrate the interesting, diverse, and humorous lifestyle others have enriched us with as noted by our favorite, Unknown Sage: 

Only in America…

can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance. 

Only in America…

are there handicap parking places in front of a skating rink.

Only in America…

do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front. 

Only in America…

do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke. 

Only in America…

do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to  the counters. 

Only in America…

do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.                       

Only in America…

do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.  

Only in America…

do we use the word "politics" to describe the process so well: "Poli" in Latin meaning "many" and "tics" meaning  "bloodsucking creatures." 

Only in America…

do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.                            

Yes, remember “only in America” on Monday and enjoy the holiday.  Then we’ll go back to work Tuesday – working to overcome our difficulties; working to leverage our opportunities; working to preserve our way of life for future generations. 

Let’s start working to pay back the loan on our planet Earth to our children and their children. 

GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.