“The malicious acts of one or a few can never mask the acts of the good-willed – HEROES WILL ALWAYS PREVAIL.”
This senseless act of violence hit home this morning, literally, asFranklinRegionalHigh Schoolis my alma mater. As an alumni, speaker and volunteer swimming coach at the school, I am angered today that someone took away that sense of safety and security I’ve had with my hometown. I grew up here, live and work in this community. I am sick that Franklin Regional and Columbine have something in common.
A friend called me this morning to talk, and mentioned that as an expecting father, he is scared to raise a child in this society – that’s hard to hear.
WAKE UP AMERICA, BECAUSE WE CAN DO SO MUCH BETTER.
Our country needs to stand tall and take a strong foot forward; realizing we cannot change what we’ve done, but realize that we can change the future. That means EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US needs to make a difference, and not rely on someone else to do it. We’ve become a nation of ‘me, me, me’, instead of taking President Kennedy’s advice to “ask what you can do for your country”. Think about it. I don’t risk my life when I swim for the hell of it; I do it for charity and the intrinsic desire to light a spark under all those who do not realize that EACH AND EVERY DAY IS A GIFT FROM GOD! If everyone only realized how amazing their lives could become if they only took that first step toward their dreams. I love the life I live, and I am proud to say that although it has not been easy, I know that I can smile because I know I am doing what I can, with the gifts I have been given, to make America a stronger nation.
Take today and ask yourself what YOU are doing to make the world around you a better place. Put your own interests aside for one minute and ask, “WHAT AM I DOING FOR MY COUNTRY?” I’ve traveled this world, and know a lot about how the people view us from outside the borders of this great nation. Foreigners love the United States for the FREEDOM we have. We all know freedom isn’t free, and many proud men and women sacrificed their lives for that very freedom we live every day.
God Bless our military – I appreciate your sacrifice today, and every day I live.
The problem we are now contending with is a generation of lazy, mentally weak ‘children’ who have been coddled and told by their parents that they deserve everything for nothing. This is my generation; I have no problem being a voice for change. We are no longer strong enough to handle rejection and use it to make us stronger, rather we resort to violence to prove we are tough. YOU ARE NOT PROVING ANYTHING TO ANY ONE BY HURTING OTHERS. Bullies are not only in our schools. They are around us every day, and are by far the weakest people in society. They bully someone else to make them feel better and make up for their insecurities. Anyone who uses hurtful words, or acts of violence on a frequent basis is a MENTALLY WEAK person. The kind people in our society are by far the toughest; the ones who put a smile on every day, and do what it takes to bring happiness to those around them.
They see the negativity in the world, block it out and smile anyway. Can you?
I always revert back to the lessons the Greatest Generation lived by, because there was a time when GOD WAS FIRST, men were men and mothers were not trying to be their child’s best friend. Get your hands dirty, let your back hurt once in a while and quit living on your knees. If you got a problem that you think warrants violence, than give me a call – I’d be glad to give you a free life lesson.
One of the greatest compliments I ever received was from a WWII Marine who saluted me after a speech and said, “I didn’t know they made them like you anymore.” Could you go to your ancestors, like mine, who sacrificed in prison camps during war, forced to leave school to support the family in the mines and helped build the moral and ethical fabric of this country that we are tearing down and tell them YOU CAN’T DO SOMETHING? If you aren’t living the life that WARRANTS YOU to stand tall, look them in the eye and shake their hand like a man, than you are not living your life. You’re living like a coward.
America has enough sheep – time to wake up the lions.