50 in 52

Following the 2016 election, our country is divided and many people genuinely hate one another. More than ever before, we need to see one another differently and understand how much we have in common.

Back in 2008, a working mother named Dafna Jenet had a mission "to change the mirror we use to reflect who we are as a society”.

She quit her job, liquidated her 401k account, and over the course of the 52 weeks of 2009 travelled to all 50 states and the Distric of Columbia searching for problem solvers and idea generators. She interviewed and captured their stories on video, posting them to her website for everyone to see. The video interviews may remind some who have seen it of the TV show "Story Trek" on BYUTV. Dafna is now a Colorado state representative-elect.

These video stories were created with the intent to help us see that who we are as a society has little to do with what you hear in the media or read in the news. It has little to do with movies and rock stars. It has to do with ordinary people who make up the society we all live in. They live in your community. They share the same challenges and have similar dreams as you do. They are the ones who raise their hands and say, "I have this problem and so do other people. I’m going to solve it for myself and for them."

For an unknown reason, some of the states do not have videos to choose from on their page. Enjoy the ones that do.

Watch. Be inspired. Take action.

http://50in52journey.com/

What can men do against such reckless hate?

THIS POSTING MAY CONTAIN CONTENT THAT MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME READERS

My perky and innocent 13-year old granddaughter is learning about the 9-11 terrorist attacks in school. She is asking questions of her grandparents about the worst attack by a foreign enemy on American soil in our nation's history- the worst terrorist attack of all time that killed nearly 3,000 people, which occurred several years before she was even born. Its hard for her to wrap her mind around such an event. Its hard for those of us who remember that day to wrap our minds around that day which changed the world forever, little less explain it to someone else.

Since 9/11, Esquire Magazine (which I generally do not read and do NOT endorse) has been one of the few publications that has been willing to do in-depth articles with photographs about the people who "fell" from the twin towers before the buildings imploded. This topic and associated photos have been taboo for many journalists. Esquire has published another such story dated 9/9/16 entitled "The Falling Man", which you can search for and read if you are so inclined. This article is raw, not because the photos are gory, but because it is so detailed and experiential, including such chilling details as heart wrenching quotes of eye witnesses or the sound that echoed between the buildings as each of the hundreds of people impacted the ground. The article also attempts to analyze why our society and media choose to look away and not be reminded of that intensity of that day. Here is a link to a brief Wikipedia article about one of the more famous photographs taken of people falling to their deaths from the twin towers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Falling_Man

In my opinion, the photographs and videos of planes being flown into these skyscrapers and of people making the horrific choice to escape from the inferno on top floors of these buildings by jumping is at the heart of remembering the gut punch that collectively hit our country that horrible day. It is uncomfortable and PAINFUL, especially for anyone who lost a family member or friend in any of the 9/11 attacks. For some, even after 15 years, it is still too soon and the wounds are still too raw to be reminded of the AWFUL events of that day.

The Esquire article accurately points out the similarities between such 9/11 "witnessing" videos and historical photographs and the photographs of piled up corpses, clothing, and reading glasses from Nazi World War II death camps in which millions of people deemed undesirable to Nazi leaders were exterminated.

Probably in the years immediately after WWII, some of the relatives and friends of those who were murdered in death camps would not have wanted to see such photographs. However, as time has elapsed, the desire to not be reminded of the pain of such events has evolved into an intense desire to remember those who died and to remind ourselves and others of the end result of such extreme hatred and depravity. Many friends, relatives, and even survivors themselves now save their money and make plans for a once-in-a-lifetime pilgramage to personally visit these historical sites with infamous names to ensure that neither they nor their posterity nor the world forgets what was done there.

In the years immediately following WWII, when grass had not yet grown over the fresh graves of hundreds of thousands of US military men and women who forfeited their lives for the freedom of Europe, many may have been alarmed and offended by the graphic depiction of fighting portrayed in a movie like "Saving Private Ryan". Yet many years after WWII, when those who yet remain alive from this era are referred to as "the greatest generation", the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated the film for 11 Academy Awards and Steven Spielberg's won a second Academy Award for Best Director, with four more Academy Awards going to the film.

In the movie "The Lord of the Rings- The Two Towers", as his garrisoned people are about to be overrun and annihilated by Saurman's army of 10,000 Uruk-hai orks, King Theoden says to himself and Aragorn (the future king), "So much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?" 

If I may be so bold as to hazard an unoriginal answer: REMEMBER! HONOR the lives and memories of those who were murdered by people who were inculcated as children to HATE those who are different. REVERE the heroism of first responders who chose to enter the twin towers to help others and the "Let's Roll" passengers on Flight 93 who saved the lives of many others. Do NOT fight hatred with hatred. Be proactive in protecting ourselves against an enemy whose extreme ideology teaches that is not only permissible, but praiseworthy to massacre innocent men, women, and children.  Teach the children what they are prepared to receive about the scary realities of the world in which we live, but teach them as early as possible to be grateful for the foundational principles of liberty, limited government restrained by checks and balances, and the right to pursue happiness that our forefathers bequeathed to us. It is up to us to build upon their work and sacrifices and make a once good nation better.

A variation on a famous speech given by President Abraham Lincoln more than 150 years ago seems a fitting end to this blog entry.


Twelve score years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 

Now we are engaged in a great war of ideologies, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can endure. We are physically and virtually met this September 11th to remember a terrible atrocity against the people of this nation and of the world. We have come to commemorate those awful events and celebrate the lives and hallow the memory of those who died. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, WE can not hallow their memories. The brave men and women who, served, struggled, and died here have hallowed this day far above our poor power to add or detract. The world may little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for US the living, rather, to BE DEDICATED TO THE UNFINISHED WORK which they who served and died here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for US to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we TAKE INCREASED DEVOTION to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- THAT WE HERE HIGHLY RESOLVE that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Live Boldly. Live Well. Just Live.

Seventy years ago in 1946, director Frank Capra created a movie entitled "Its a Wonderful Life" about a good man who struggles with injustices that happen to him in spite of his best efforts to live a good life and help other people. In a moment of despair, he decides that life is no longer worth living and wishes he had never been born. He is granted his wish of seeing what life what be like without him. What finally helps George Bailey change his mind about wishing he had never existed is not that his own problems went away, but rather the realization that "each person's life touches so many other lives and when they aren't around, they leave an awful hole". This movie, which has become one of the premier classic films of all time, aims to teach all of us, that even when we experience adversity, setbacks, or injustices, not withstanding the opposition in all things that must needs be, life should and can be wonderful.

Present day Hollywood has just produced a new film entitled "Me Before You" that deals with the same theme as "Its a Wonderful Life", namely how to respond when life gives you unwanted hardships and adversity. Apparently, Hollywood, society, and morality has changed a lot in 70 years. "Me Before You" is about a quadriplegic who decides to end his life via assisted suicide. Not withstanding the film's tagline of "Live Boldly. Live Well. Just Live.", the film attempts to portray that assisted suicide is a bold choice that should be honored and supported, in part, because the girl he loves would be better off without him. Click here to read a review of "Me Before You".

In contrast to Hollywood's and society's trend of embracing assisted suicide when life is hard, I would like to again point to the example of Jack Rushton, another very good man I have mentioned before in my blog. Like the fictional character named Will in the "Me Before You" film, Jack suddenly became a quadriplegic due to a tragic accident that permanently damaged his spinal cord. Unlike Will, Jack also had to rely on a mechanical respirator to breath for him the rest of his life. After an all too understandable period of denial and despondency, Jack, along with his amazing wife Jo Anna, chose to face their sore trial with courage, determination, gratitude, a positive attitude, and a healthy dash of self deprecating humor...and in doing so, positively influenced the lives of many, many people. I highly recommend reading Jack's blog entitled "Its Good to be Alive". Me Before You? Not so much.