A parent’s words and actions—particularly those of the father—have much more impact on children than we appreciate. Everyday conversations can be life changing. The message to us as parents: Handle with thought and care, and be engaged. Elsewhere I have discussed the tragedy of absentee fathers. Here I want to remind both fathers and mothers, using simple examples, how important our words and actions are. From being a son with brothers to raising five grown children, I can attest that your...
The First of September has always interested me. It was on that day that World War II started. Last year, on the 75th Anniversary of that awful moment, I wrote a special post about it. This year I am struck by how, in Europe, World War II did not start with a surprise attack, like Pearl Harbor or 9/11. Instead, a madman running an evil regime slowly consolidated his national power while repeatedly telling the world exactly what he was going to do. But the world, and particularly his...
It has now been almost seven years since the world went through its last financial meltdown, or Black Swan, and from sixty-eight years of personal observation, it’s about time for another one, because they always eventually happen, no matter what the elites and the regulators promise. A good definition of a Black Swan is at BlackSwanEvents.org: “A Black Swan event is an event in human history that was unprecedented and unexpected at the point in time it occurred. However, after evaluating the...
Last Saturday we made our usual afternoon trip to the local Y to work out. Outside the front door was a large inflatable bunny and a sign inviting us to the Eggsplosion Egg Hunt, which we had apparently just missed. Some young children were leaving with their parents, having their pictures taken with the inflatable bunny. Inside at the front desk was a second sign, and throughout the building there were others. Lots of information was on the signs, including an invitation to the Bunny Buffet...
Ending 2014 with five personal thoughts on events that surprised me: Shortly after Memorial Day I attended a professional breakfast on current topics in commercial real estate. There were several hundred well dressed attendees, of all ages and both genders. The MC began by mentioning Memorial Day and remembering those who had given the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. Then he asked for all of those who had served in the U.S. military to stand up to be recognized. I am used to that request...
One of our children recently lamented how difficult it is in the current political climate to understand what really is "truth", since all sides seem to claim it. He declared himself to be a post-modern when it comes to issues and candidates. That conclusion troubled me, and so I set out to find truths outside of the current political cycle which can help inform us about how we should look at issues and at candidates. The following is the result of that process. “Truth is simple, and...
In recognition of President Obama's State of the Union address, I'd like to share with you the very different approach of President William Harrison in my novel, The President, written almost twenty years ago. Enjoy. State of the Union Preamble
One guaranteed way to win an argument is to insure that your opponent never has any input into the debate. The secular lock-out of religious input into the public square has been gaining strength for decades, but now the pace of this discrimination is rapidly increasing. I have written previously on Alexis de Tocqueville’s 1836 observation that America’s unique strength was how Judeo-Christian faith and values were woven deeply and inexorably into the multi-faceted quilt of our society. ...
We will never have proper race relations until we recognize the fundamental role of God, try as we might with programs, laws, textbooks, pundits and cable news town halls After all, He is the Creator of us all. If we have a common Father, then we are all brothers and sisters. It doesn’t mean that we are all exactly alike, but that we are all family—and are all equal. When that perspective takes hold in the life of a believer, differences between us become something to celebrate, never to...
As we approach the 237th anniversary of July 4, 1776, I have several disparate but related thoughts. We are a young nation. It seems impossible to me, but in just my sixty-six years I have lived through over one quarter of our nation’s history. If you trace back only four generations past my grandfather, those men actually fought in the American Revolution. Our nation is young, and as others have said, it is as much a unique combination of ideas as it is a place. It was founded on personal...
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