I am old enough to recall being inspired by a President-elect at his inauguration saying, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” This was the same President who told us we could send a person to the moon – and ours was a generation with sufficient faith to believe him. He told us that, “we choose this (moon visitation) goal not because it is easy, but because it is hard.” Imagine that.
Imagine either Presidential candidate asking us to strive, struggle, and give of ourselves for the enrichment of anything except ourselves. It would be political suicide. Instead, candidates enter into a competitive contest of Feed the Greed – he/she who promises the most freebies wins. Granted, since John Fitzgerald Kennedy proffered those ideals, six decades have passed. We are a different people, grappling our way across an entirely new landscape. The world has opened up wide before us, ironically, making most of us feel less empowered in its vastness than previous generations. We bow, boggled at the sheer numbers of humanity and the complexity of our over-peopled hive. We feel small. What am I that anyone should be mindful of me?
The answer to that self-negating query was given me recently by friend and warm-hearted sage, Ed Madsen. “We each possess so much more ability to effect change than we realize. Our compassion, concern, and radiated joy have the power to positively lift up our neighbors – daily, continually. We can create change in the lives and outlooks of so many people when we begin to ask, ‘what can I do for the fella’ next door?’” Perhaps this may be that lofty goal worthy of our current generation. And while it is not easy, it may just prove as personally rewarding as a moon shot. All in all, this perspective put me in mind of my reply to a friend when the lights went out. “Oh no, Shelly, we are never without power, we just don’t have any electricity.”
Wishing you every success,
– Bart Jackson