Friends

 

This holiday is anticipated by me and my family with the greatest hopes. But despite those hopes I am very concerned about how we are dealing with each other and the world.

There are so many worthwhile goals we should be pursuing and we are not doing that.

 

I think of the millions of Americans whose jobs are being compromised by the outsourcing of labor to countries that really don’t care about the desperate conditions and pay of their workers. In fact, we may have become one of those countries.

 

A major factor in measuring the well being of our people is the number of people that do not have health insurance. The number of people in that category is in excess of 42 Million.

 

Our railroads have been destroyed by the policies of this country over the past 50 years. While the rest of the modern world has provided their populations with comfortable, reliable high speed rail service, we have an embarrassing relic of a system. At the same time we pour billions into the dysfunctional airlines. The airlines were dysfunctional before 9/11, and now they are infinitely worse.

 

Our dependence on oil is a travesty and a waste of our resources. We have the technology to produce alternative energy, and reduce consumption by huge amounts by employing known technologies in transportation and electric power generation. Here is a place where government can blaze the trail and they haven’t.

 

We can decry this loss of place in the world, and I’ll be the first to say it, but it is not the leadership that should be blamed. With rare exceptions, those who “lead” will do nothing unless we are vigilant and make it impossible for them to ignore us.

 

A good friend of mine, wrote a song called “The Individual Man.” It’s a great, uplifting song, and according to the lyrics, everything comes down to you and me. Not only can we make a difference, we are the only ones that can. The observations that I made above are problems that are all in our hands to solve. That’s the good news, and also the bad news. Get busy.

 

Lastly, we cannot be distracted by what I call non-issues designed to divide us. Issues like gay marriage? Who cares? War on Christmas, I’ve heard that since I was a child. Abortion? It isn’t changing. Prayers in school? Pray all you want and keep it to yourself.

 

In my opinion, and for what it’s worth, it is only one man’s opinion, we are being terribly misled. However the New Year is approaching and “hope springs eternal in the hearts of men.”

 

May the peace and joy of this season, that we hope for, be yours.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year

 

Ernie Fazio