Adlai Stevenson once identified that "On the plains of hesitation lie the blackened bones of countless millions who at the dawn of victory lay down to rest, and in resting died."

There are days when the world seems like a nice place to be and there are days that "try men's souls". Going on sometimes seems too daunting.

See, I'm way past my smartest years. Between 18 and 25, I was a flaming genius. I knew things, I saw things and I saw the answers to almost all questions. Then I grew up!

I have learned that things come in cycles. A cycle is like a wheel. When you're at the top you better get ready because you are starting a down turn; but when you hit bottom you better be ready to start climbing out of the ditch.

I wish that we could fix things and they would stay fixed. I wish we could correct problems and they would stay corrected; however, if that were the case we would already have things where they need to be.

I used to think I could fix the world if only I had a chance. I never really encountered problems that were so complex and complicated that they couldn't be solved; most of the time the answers are obvious and actually pretty simple.       Life is pretty simple; it's the living it that gets complicated.

I learned that I can fix some things, but other people come into the equation and we continue to face the same issues time and time again. Santanya said, "He who does not remember the past is destined to repeat it."

Today the world is a lot different.  Personal accountability and responsibility have become passé. In this enlightened age, we have learned that all things can be excused because of circumstances and situations done to us.

It seems strength of character is no longer a prerequisite to success. Learning from your mistakes has been replaced by political correctness and the need for each of us to become a victim.

Feelings are now more important than behavior, and intent carries more weight than accomplishment.

No longer are we encouraged to struggle against adversity to gain victory. No longer do we value judgment gained from bad experiences; I think that is sad.

Political correctness is the panacea of the masses. Fear of consequence has replaced majority rule and doing the right thing. Litigiousness ( the fear of being sued) has replaced leadership and effective management.

Discrimination is allowed as long as the discriminator happens to be a minority. Why? We're afraid to impose the laws designed to regulate society if the person belongs to a protected and special class of citizen.

It seems the only folks guilty of discrimination these days are conservative, white, male, heterosexual Christians that own guns.

It seems opinions are only valued provided you don't disagree with policies and programs designed for those special classes of citizens.

I know you're tired of all the hoopla and so am I. We must keep trying, we must keep the faith.

In closing let's remember what Churchill said, "Never, ever in anything large or small; never, ever quit."