Blogcabin California

As the New Year advances and Congress convenes, I personally wish all of us - our members and our readers - a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.  We have many challenges ahead of us, but if we attempt to face those situations which may seem unsettling with head-on determination and by working together in a peaceful and harmonious manner, we can all most likely get things done in a much more expedient manner.  It is very important for all of us to realize that we must come together as a nation for the good of all United States citizens so that we may strengthen ourselves as a nation… and as individuals. 
 
At the risk of sounding like a self-help guru, the continued strengthening of ourselves as United States citizens and as individuals goes hand-in-hand. We have to go within! If we are to bring about any changes of a positive nature, we have to develop positive attributes within ourselves before we can hope to proceed. If we cannot learn to work with ourselves, we cannot work efficiently with others.  Part of working with ourselves involves the necessity for all of us to take responsibility for our actions and for our circumstances, to look at challenges squarely in the face. Then we must determine what we can do to alleviate negative circumstances from our lives; without blaming others for what we may be enduring, and by learning to become more self-sufficient so that we may be able to become more self-sufficient as a nation. 
 
I was at a loss as to what to write for my first article this year, and then I received the following message in my personal e-mail, excerpts of which I would like to share with you.  It really has a lot to say about attitudes that have wracked this country in the last couple of years, especially in regard to perceptions of government action and civilian attitudes. Here are the excerpts, edited into paragraph form from its original line-by-line format to save space:
 
“WEATHER BULLETIN –Denver  

“Up here, in the “Mile-Hi City”, we just recovered from a Historic event— may I even say a “Weather Event” of “Biblical Proportions” — with a historic blizzard of up to 44″ inches of snow and winds to 90 MPH that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to 10’s of thousands.  

“FYI:  George Bush did not come. FEMA did nothing. No one howled for the government. No one blamed the government. No one even uttered an expletive on TV. Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit. Our Mayor did not blame Bush or anyone else. Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else, either. CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC did not visit - or report on this category 5 snowstorm. Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards. No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House. No one looted. Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something. Nobody expected the government to do anything, either. No Larry King, No Bill O’Rielly, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No Geraldo Rivera. No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found.   

“Nope, we just melted the snow for water. Sent out caravans of SUV’s to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars. The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn’t ask for a penny. Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snowbound families. Families took in the stranded people - total strangers. We fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or Coleman lanterns. We put on extra layers of clothes because up here it is “Work or Die”.

“We did not wait for some government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for ’sittin at home’ checks. Even though a Category “5″ blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early, we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves.

“In my many travels, I have noticed that once one gets north of about 48 degrees North Latitude, 90% of the world’s social problems evaporate. It does seem that way, at least to me. I hope this gets passed on. Maybe SOME people will get the message. The world does Not owe you a living. The Government and Tax $ are not your insurance company.” 
 
This ends the excerpts of the message that I received.  To some, it may seem a bit cynical but it does have a point.  It certainly reflects the general weather patterns of attitudes that have been drifting across our nation! Granted, natural disasters can be catastrophic and tragic; moreover, it’s extremely unsettling and disturbing why protective and preventative measures have failed in the past. Have we all become too complacent in doing all that we can to protect ourselves and each other from natural disasters or from the attacks from those of other countries who wish to see us vanquished?  Have we come to expect too much from our government by thinking that it will do everything for us, inclusive of paying our bills and taking care of every aspect of our lives, without ourselves lifting a finger to better our circumstances or to create a more secure environment?    If that is the case, then we must come to the realization that it is not how that works.  Our government and every citizen of the United States must work hand-in-hand if we are to get anything done for the good of all of us.  We must all learn to work together calmly and harmoniously, as individuals working with each other. Both parties in Congress must learn to work harmoniously and together, if we are to navigate whatever stormy seas which may occur.   Let’s hope that the weather will be sunny for all of us this year — with only the occasional partly cloudy skies and devoid of any blustery ill wind - especially in Congress.