OUR VIEW: Americans should restore former unity
Americans should restore former unity
It doesn’t seem as if a year has gone by. Where does America now stand? Did Americans unite? Are they still united?
Following the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, people of this great land gathered in mourning. Individuals dropped the routines in their lives to help in a time of disaster. Patriotism was reborn in the United States. America rang with freedom and liberty. Citizens felt loyalty and responsibility to their native land. The flag became a meaningful symbol again.
Is America the great, the beautiful and the free different today? Does unity describe the current state of the country? Are things getting better for mankind?
What makes America America is a helping hand. There is no greater cause than to help another. This still thrives in the land of the free. Inspiration is passed from one person to another through charitable acts. This inspiration spreads rapidly and influences all. Benjamin Franklin said, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
A guest on radio station KUER Tuesday said, “Maybe the American spirit is like an oleander seed that only opens in intense fire.”
That may be the appearance on the outside, but inside every volunteer is a fire burning within.
America lives. Exercise the freedom to act. Be a volunteer. Participate. Do something good. Make this world a better place. “Be excellent to each other.”
Don’t leave it for the next guy. Do it for him. As an inspired individual once said, “A true friend doesn’t demand your time, but devotes time.”
Be assertive. Don’t wait for good things to happen, make them happen. Great people are great because of their contribution to mankind. Be important in a worthwhile cause. It is a great time to be alive. Make it meaningful.
If charity fails in each individual, the American spirit dies altogether.
Take the initiative as John F. Kennedy said, “And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”