While pondering what to share with you this week, I started with the things I SHOULD talk about.
First, if you’re a golfer and tired of living in a virtual world, the Chamber’s Annual Golf Tournament is August 3, next Monday. Plan to join the fun.
Then there’s our work to keep businesses open with the Keep NoCo Open campaign.
But what I WANT to write about is free enterprise, freedom, and equality of opportunity. Have we lost our collective minds? You’d think so from watching YouTube, the news, and participating on social media. Instead of celebrating a remarkable country that has transformed the world and dramatically improved the human condition, we’re supposed to believe America is a failed nation and the source of all evil in the world. Bosh. Absolutely not true.
Ironically, the majesty of our country seems to be most obvious to non-native born Americans and their children, those who chose to come here for the American Dream. Most fascinating are videos of young Americans advocating socialism who are confronted by people who escaped communist and socialist countries. The exchanges are enlightening in that the escapees from communism understand how horrible communism really is and how good we have it here. They are also sad because too many Americans don’t seem to understand that.
The negativity has gotten so bad I’m now getting texts from friends with the plea ‘Tell me something good.’
So how about this: We live in the best country in the history of the world. It’s a promise and a prayer and an ideal. It is imperfect but we strive to get better and have and will continue to do so. Equality of opportunity should remain a focus and barriers to opportunity for all should be dismantled when found. Free enterprise is also imperfect but has produced more innovation, freedom, wealth, and opportunity than any other economic system by far, ever. And, finally, be selective about where you get your news, put yourself on a ‘news diet,’ dial back the social media. Haters hate and as a doer, you don’t have time for all that.
But that’s the kind of stuff it seems you can get in trouble for thinking, much less saying. So instead let me just say, thank you for being a doer and for staying focused on the good stuff. (And, by the way, we are very fortunate to be Americans.)