This book is about America straying from her founding fathers’ concern for principles of right conduct. It challenges readers to contemplate America’s future, realizing that virtues and values which historically worked could work again if allowed importance in today’s lifestyle.
Excerpt:
Table of Contents
PREFACE ………………………………………………………………………………. xiii
INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………….1
COMPASSION……………………………………………………………………………3
Who Is Our Neighbor?……………………………………………………………….5
A Change of Heart …………………………………………………………………….8
Do We Forget the Pain?……………………………………………………………11
Two Gifts ……………………………………………………………………………….14
COURAGE ……………………………………………………………………………….17
The Cost of Dreams …………………………………………………………………19
Mighty Inspirers………………………………………………………………………22
Lost Civilization ……………………………………………………………………..25
New Beginnings………………………………………………………………………27
ENTHUSIASM………………………………………………………………………….31
The Best Medicine…………………………………………………………………..33
The Wellspring of Life …………………………………………………………….36
Childish Things……………………………………………………………………….38
Happy Talk …………………………………………………………………………….40
EXCELLENCE………………………………………………………………………….43
Staying Within the Lines ………………………………………………………….45
Too Much of a Good Thing ………………………………………………………47
All My Heroes Wore White Hats ………………………………………………49
Eliminate Hopscotch?………………………………………………………………52
FAITH………………………………………………………………………………………55
Someone to Thank …………………………………………………………………..57
The “What If” Game ………………………………………………………………..59
Things I Don’t Expect Under the Tree………………………………………..62
Too Good to Be True………………………………………………………………. 65
GOODNESS…………………………………………………………………………….. 69
People Helping People…………………………………………………………….. 71
Cheering for the Underdog ………………………………………………………. 73
In Search of Innocence ……………………………………………………………. 76
Sound the Trumpet for Good……………………………………………………. 79
INTEGRITY …………………………………………………………………………….. 81
False Faces…………………………………………………………………………….. 83
Genuine Illusion …………………………………………………………………….. 86
Reading Pictures…………………………………………………………………….. 88
Life Has No Reverse Gear……………………………………………………….. 91
LOYALTY……………………………………………………………………………….. 95
Bringing Families Together……………………………………………………… 97
Where Do You Call Home?……………………………………………………. 100
Family Ties………………………………………………………………………….. 102
Treasures of the Heart……………………………………………………………. 104
PATRIOTISM…………………………………………………………………………. 107
A Way Out of the Maze…………………………………………………………. 109
Bridges, Not Walls ……………………………………………………………….. 112
Freedom Means Responsibility ………………………………………………. 114
Is History Temporary?…………………………………………………………… 117
RESPECT ………………………………………………………………………………. 121
Pushing Chains …………………………………………………………………….. 123
Invisible Bruises …………………………………………………………………… 125
Within the Human Family ……………………………………………………… 127
Making a Difference……………………………………………………………… 130
RESPONSIBILITY………………………………………………………………….. 133
One Weak Link…………………………………………………………………….. 135
Learning From the Cowbird …………………………………………………… 138
Shades of Gray
xi
Defining Normal ……………………………………………………………………140
Disposable Society?……………………………………………………………….143
SELF-DISCIPLINE ………………………………………………………………….145
Powerful Peer Pressure …………………………………………………………..147
Wasting Time………………………………………………………………………..150
Choosing Habits…………………………………………………………………….153
The Future Comes Soon Enough……………………………………………..155
EPILOGUE ……………………………………………………………………………..159
CLOSING THOUGHTS…………………………………………………………..163
Freedom Means Responsibility
Is freedom as certain as taxes? Is it ours because it’s just ours? No strings attached? Carl Sandburg said, “Freedom is baffling: Men having it often know not they have it till it is gone and they no longer have it.”
Mr. Sandburg’s thinking mirrors the adage, “You don’t miss your water till the well runs dry.” Has our liberty become simply a right we take for granted? Like the air we breathe?
We’ve become aware of the dangers of losing our favored environment unless we do our part in its conservation. What can we do to prevent our freedoms from threats of extinction as our clean air has received? Is it up to us to guard our liberty as many today practice basic protection of our environment?
George Bernard Shaw said, “Liberty means responsibility.” If we agree with Mr. Shaw, it’s necessary to explore the definition of responsibility. Doesn’t responsibility mean that ultimately “the buck stops here”? That I must live with the consequences if I make wrong decisions, not blaming them on other people or a higher authority?
That responsibility even includes protecting our basic possession of liberty. I hope the days are gone when some of our citizens talk about the great advantages of having liberty, only to pass along all the decision making and problem solving and defending to others.
Annually we celebrate the beginning of this country. Her gift of freedom. Fireworks streak the sky around Miss Liberty’s upraised arm in the New York harbor.
From coast to coast each July in our great country, people celebrate. Celebrate America’s past and look to her future. What a time in history to have faith in the future! With our vast capabilities in science, technology, and industry, combined with the love and concern we’re capable of, we could start clearing cobwebs of poverty, conflict, and ignorance in our world. We have the means to reach for such a goal and we have the freedom to move toward it.
In the plaza of the Rockefeller Center in New York City, the personal credo of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. is inscribed on a plaque. One of his statements there reads: “I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.”
This is indeed a great time to have faith in a bright future for America. Today our liberty is intact. Combining our rights, our opportunities, and our possessions with our compassion, we could go far in making this country one of comfort and brotherhood.
Can we remove our mental blinders and use our liberty to help bring about a brighter future for our children and grandchildren? A brighter one than present conditions sometime promise?
Do we want to?
Do we believe we can?
Post a Comment