The following was sent to me and my fellow employees this morning... something to think about!
"I want to encourage all of you to exercise your right as an American citizen to vote. Few countries in the world allow their people to actually control their government by voting periodically for candidates they think will support their views. You are lucky to be a citizen of this great country but unfortunately that comes with an obligation.
The first time I cast a vote it was for John Kennedy as President. He was charismatic, young, good looking, a war hero and articulate. He didn’t win by a landslide but he was such a popular President that he was almost turned into a God after his assassination. In retrospect, however he wasn’t the great President we thought he was but he did say something that I still use occasionally: "Ask what you can do for your country and not what your country can do for you." I had been raised that way and as a result had joined the Army. I was in Korea on the day he died.
But somehow we have left Kennedy’s world of responsibility, which is what he was talking about, and backfilled that void with a far different world we call Entitlement. This country was built and defended by people who knew if they didn’t do it, it wasn’t going to get done. 150 years ago my ancestors were eking out a living on a farm they had carved out in what had been Indian Territory in what is now the State of Kansas. There was no sense among them of being entitled to a certain kind of life but a strong responsibility to take care of themselves and to help their children be more than they had been. A small church was built, followed soon by a one-room schoolhouse. These pioneers took it upon themselves to bring about success and through perseverance and hard work they did.
So, before you go to the polls I would ask that you stop and think about the candidate(s) you are about to vote for. Think about the philosophy of entitlement versus responsibility and make sure what they represent is what you want for our country. It is the United States that we are obligated to support and defend, you come second for without the security we enjoy today there is no future worth having. Massive federal debt and social programs that are out of control will kill the Land of Opportunity, depriving our children and grandchildren from enjoying their lives. Today opportunity still exists. The politician that makes the most sense about how to preserve it is the one you should vote for.
I have had financial success in my life by taking chances. I did it because I could personally gain if whatever I was doing actually worked out. I failed almost as much as I won but net-net it all worked out. I started with absolutely nothing but a belief in the free enterprise system and hard work sprinkled with some luck brought success. My formula of taking reasonable chances still works but it won’t in the future if the rewards are not there and if capital is not available. America is about having the opportunity, not the obligation or the entitlement to make more out of your life. All you have to do is what is required for what you want to accomplish. Education, hard work and character all play a role. Luck, too but the only way to have luck is to take a risk.
Happy Friday!
