At my high school (Pulaski) graduation in Milwaukee many years ago, the guest speaker was a local judge, Christ D. Seraphim. Odd name I know – thought so even back then. But one comment he made has served me well over the decades. He instructed us with, “No one owes you anything.” This advice, I know, is totally out of fashion now, but it served me well. We now live in a world where many expect the government to give them opportunity, safety, and success. It is also counter to the admonition that came just a few years later at the Presidential inauguration speech of John F. Kennedy, when he counseled us, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Widely quoted for years afterward, this resonant call is hardly heard anymore. Conditions in the USA have changed fundamentally from an era of independence and self-reliance to one of dependence and safe-spaces, and yes, variations of self-styled utopias*. In fact, I do not feel I
Random thoughts and used ideas