Since the President’s announcement that he was declaring a National Emergency on our southern border, I’ve been thinking a lot about those two words. National Emergency.

I think this declaration was a political stunt. How did I come to that? Well a bit of common sense and talking with a couple of friends who live there plus several friends who work on the border. You might disagree and have your reasons. (FYI…just because we might disagree, that doesn’t mean I don’t like you or respect you.)

So, are there any other things that I would deem as National Emergencies? You bet! 

Here are just a few that come to mind…

•Ongoing Interference by State      actors like Russia/China/Iran/Saudi Arabia, etc…

•Gun Violence

•Drug Abuse

•Teacher Pay

•Gang Violence

•Parental involvement w/ family

•Cyber Security

•Election interference

•Voter Suppression

•Crumbling infrastructure 

•Homelessness 

•Climate Change

•Healthcare/Prescriptions

•College Cost

•Veteran Care/Reintroduction 

And if they don’t qualify as emergencies, there are most certainly epidemics of intolerance, bigotry, rationalization, hatred, close mindedness, insensitivity and active wars being waged against facts, fairness, common sense, Being an American above  Republican or Democrat and also a complete lack of respect for anyone who is different whether in skin color, sexual orientation, country of origin or even political party.

No, many of these aren’t new. That doesn’t make them any less worrisome.

I don’t know much. (There are many who will agree with that last statement.) But I do know a few things. Here are some of them…

•I’m worried about the United States of America

•As my Dad used to say “A fact is still a fact even if you wish it wasn’t

•We learn from those who are different from us

•I’ve seen too many of my friends pay the ultimate price, to watch some within this country accept the aid of other countries in order to influence our way of life.

•If a man is drowning, sitting on the bank telling him you’re sending him your “thoughts and prayers” is a good way to watch him die! There come a time when you have to reach out and pull them out of the water!

•Country over party!

   (Nuff said on that one…)

I also know this, we have it within us to be better, kinder, more loving, more empathetic and charitable, but only if we choose to do be, if for no other reason than we must! Yes, we must…

Peace

Gregg

Compassion is a wonderful thing but without action, compassion only stays in the wishing, hoping and praying stage. The ironic thing is, that all of those wishes and hopes and prayers are for someone to take some action!

Contact a friend or a loved one and challenge them to do a small act of compassion. Once they complete the challenge ask them to pass it along to one of their friends or loved ones. You might be the beginning of a movement that helps more people than you could ever imagine.

What could some of those acts of compassion I talked about be? Well they are limitless, but here are a few to maybe get you thinking…

~Drop a pizza or bag of burgers at your local Firehouse or Police Department

~Take flowers by the hospital and ask they they go to patients rooms that don’t have any

~Send money (A few bucks or a few hundred, depending what you can afford) to an elderly or disabled friend or family member

~Drop dinner by a caregiver’s house

~Send movie tickets to the family of Military member

~Become a “pen pal” for a service member (Soldier’s Angels is one that I use)

There are a few for you, now it’s up to you to do SOMETHING or NOTHING. 

I’ll leave you with this, my Dad once told me that the decision to help someone was up to me but he said “There will come a time when you’ll realize that doing nothing was a bad option. For most people son, by the time they realize that, it’s much too late.”

Peace

Gregg

From the time we’re born we hear about our heart. We put our hand over it during the pledge of allegiance, we feel it pounding when we are frightened, we “give” it to someone as a token of our love, we cry over it when it gets “broken” but behind all of that, we know that our beating heart is what keeps us going. Each day we take for granted the thousands of times out heart beats just so we can exist. As long as that happens, whether we think of it or not, we exist.

What we don’t realize enough is that our heart is only part of our existence. As we crawl, walk, run, sit, sleep, laugh, cry and race through life our existence is fueled not only by our heart but also by the persistent beating of hundreds, thousands and sometimes millions of other hearts that are “propping” us up. They might be family or friends. They might be neighbors or acquaintances or they might be people that we just meet once or maybe, just maybe, never meet at all.

PEACE

Gregg