Monday, November 5, 2012

On the Precipice of Change -

On the Precipice of Change
     As we ponder our future this week we try and envision what our world might look like 6 months from now and beyond, we can’t help but think back about when life was more idyllic. When we were a people of wonder and hope and had dreams for our kids and grandkids that surpassed our own lives growing up in the 50’s and 60’s and 70’s.     

     As a free people we just hope in the vision of a future that is bigger and better that that of previous times. I’ve personally witnessed an erosion of the American dream in the past number of years as society has changed and watched as values have changed. Change is always a needed thing if we are to be innovators and idea people, but some of the changes that have taken place have taken a toll on those of us who baby boomers as we’ve watched with interest in how American business has evolved into a purely profit machine that could care less in the people who make it happen, namely it’s workforce.

    How many people do you know who have had a diminished standard of living in the past 10 years? Who is it in your family that has experienced being “down sized” without a job and left to fend for themselves in a sour economy? We all know someone whose had to deal with aging and at the same time see whatever nest egg they had evaporate just trying to keep the lights on. And the back side of that is that they there has been no “light at the end of the tunnel” in many respects.

    As Americans we have a proud heritage of independence and resolve. We’ve always taken the lemons we’ve been given and made not only lemonade, but we’ve taken those sour fruits and made things like Super Duper Frothy Delicious Lemon Fruit Ta-Ta or some similar concoction. That’s just who we are as a people. We are innovators and entrepreneurs at our core. That’s why we’ve been the best at what we do. We know what’s good and what works.  That’s why immigrants flock here, isn’t it. They want a piece of the large wonderful pie that we call America. Can’t blame them, can you?

    I am hoping for change. And the change I’m hoping for is that we can once again be released as a people to innovate once again. That through collective creative genius we can unleash Americans to re-build America. And when we do that we all get a piece of the action.

    So as we look forward, I hope that we all realize that we really can re-fire the engines of America. If we as a people will untie the hands of business and let capitalism and innovation do what it does best, we will see a spirit of cooperation and excitement that we’ve not experienced in a long time. Don’t you think it’s high time we got back to the American we all knew and loved? Wouldn’t you like to be excited again about the future our great nation? America has been asleep, not dead. It’s been imprisoned, but not with a life sentence.  

It is my earnest hope and prayer that life will once again resemble the America I once knew. And I hope that starts before it is too late to change.