Quote of the week
Cindy on October 2nd, 2008
Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential. — Barack Obama
With the ongoing economic crisis, everyone is having a tough time focusing on anything but money issues. When I was much younger, I had dreams of hitching my wagon to “something larger than myself,” always with the aim of getting more from my career than a paycheck. Like most college kids, I was idealistic and, at times, incredibly impractical. Back then, I could afford to be a dreamer, a dabbler, a poet, and a literary explorer. I could afford to be impractical. Â
Today, young people face the worst economic recession in decades. They’re forced to focus on paychecks, not dream careers. Listening to Senator Obama speak in Wisconsin earlier this week, I was lifted by the parts of his speech directed to the college students in the audience. With the long view in mind, he reminded us all that the economic mess created by Washington, Wall Street, and, yes, Main Street, shouldn’t be the legacy we leave our children.Â
The future belongs to young people who can use their gifts to the fullest — for scientific research as well as literary and artistic contributions. For something larger than themselves. –CL
October 2nd, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Cindy! I, too, wish to leave a “fresh” world for my children and their children. Is it possible? God, I hope so.
October 4th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
I think it’s still true that “if we do what we love, the money will follow.” This country has been in dire straits before, and it has been the passion and hard work of its people who have brought it back. I have to envision a positive future because that’s what I want. Anything is possible, proven by McCain’s pullout from Michigan. Good for you! The only problem is that now he’s headed for Maine -and I am imagining him gone!
October 5th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
These are such difficult times, indeed. Right now, as I see it, dreams take a back seat to survival. But I hope all that will change soon. I think that the reason I’m so vocal about this election is because of my kids — and I bet many moms and dads feel the same. It’s bad enough when we have to deal with this mess — but what about our kids? So I’m in this for my kids and your kids and everybody’s kids.