Citizenship in Action

I received an email yesterday, written by a woman who lives in our town. Her 19 year old son was killed in a car accident a few months back, and it has been terribly hard on the family. He was a great kid. A great example, well liked by everyone, religious, everything you could imagine.

So what was her email about? Complaining of the unfairness of the universe? Feeling she deserved something in return? Nope. She wrote to ask her friends to help someone else. To help another human being in need. You see, there's a small shop nearby that's going out of business. He's got quite a bit of inventory, and less than a week to sell it before he closes up.

She had ventured out (which is difficult in itself still) to buy some gifts, and discovered that the owner had his own share of sadness with having to close down. By herself, there wasn't much she could do. But she was writing to ask those she knew to stop by, and spend a few dollars each to help the business owner to make the closing less painful.

What would our country be like if more people took it upon themselves to help others, rather than insisting that the government make up for our misfortunes? One person can't always do a lot. But one community can ease burdens, lend a hand, and make a difference when we know and care about each other. What could one country could do with the proper focus on a common goal?

Have We Forgotten

A few weeks ago I attended an 80th birthday party for someone very dear to me. On the wall near the entrance in their home was a rather large American flag. Upon questioning the significance of that flag I learned that it had flown over Afghanistan. It was sent to them from Afghanistan by their only son who is currently serving there with our armed forces. This son has also served twice in Iraq.

I had this thought running in the back of my mind when I heard a song on the radio this past week. Now I am not much of a country music fan. The only country music I listen to is the kind that makes it to the pop music stations. I have several of these stations that have presets on the car radio. After exhausting the aforementioned presets and finding absolutely nothing that I could stand to hear I began to wander in the space between these stations. It was then that I found a song that made me stop and listen.

I leave only a link to the video because embedding has been restricted. Even if you aren't a fan of country music, take just a few minutes to listen. Darryl Worley - Have You Forgotten? I can't hear it enough. As I listened I thought of the military son and the flag on their wall. My dear old friend and her family remember. They have not forgotten why he is there. Neither should we.

I have two pictures of me that help me to not forget. These are of me back when we didn't know that there was anyone named Osama bin Laden or where Afghanistan or Iraq were on the map.