Take my hand, please help me man, 'cause I'm looking for something to believe in

We live in a world of personal injustices. It's a sad fact. There are those that choose to live a life void of understanding, empathy, and compassion. The needs of others simply don't matter. Selfishness is an ugly, ugly quality. Don't allow it to define you as so many others have.

As you continue to develop the ideologies that will define you as men in this world, make sure never to surrender your ideals to those who will try to rob you of them. There are those that will try to force their own self-serving ideals on you and make you feel that you are wrong for your beliefs. They will use many methods to attempt to break you and conform to their view of how you should be, think, and act. Believe in yourself and the things that are important to you. There is nothing more unbreakable in this world than a man fighting for a cause that he truly believes in. That being said, the portrait of a confident, principled man is one that will revile those that seek to tear you apart. It terrifies people because it makes them look at themselves and perhaps see the fact that they are wrong. People hate being wrong so much that they will do everything in their power to not have to address that possibility.

It is my hope that you both develop into passionate men. Passionate in the sense of having a set of core beliefs that define you and defending those ideals to all the attackers who will most certainly try to beat you down for having them. Don't accept others definitions of “how things are.” Make things how you want them to be. You have the power to create the life you want and no one can take that from you. Don't let them.

A strong man is not defined by how much he can bench press. Instead it is by the determination he displays in seeking to make justice out of injustice. Righting the wrongs. Taking a stand for what you believe in will make you admired by some, hated by others. No way around that. Some people view a strong man as a threat and will set about to destroy him. Stay true to what you believe in and they don't stand a chance against you. Allow yourself to be open to others' opinions and be man enough to admit when yours turn out to be wrong. That is the trait of a great man.

My family comes before all else. Before my personal needs, my career, my country....God. That may not be the order that the bible speaks of, but it is mine. I cannot and will not become complacent when it comes to my family. As a young man growing up, I often felt lost and was searching for the ideals that would define my life. Family is it for me. It is how I hope to be remembered. I used to think success, money and “things” defined a man but I have come to learn that that is a myth conjured up by some ad exec on Madison Avenue.

I love you guys with all of my heart and will fight for you until my last breath. To those who would wish to attack you....you better bring your “A” game. And then some.

Love,
Dad

Headline from "Something to Believe In" by The Ramones, 1986

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

This week our country did something that I didn't think I'd see in my lifetime. Maybe in yours. We elected an African-American President of the United States. Barack Obama will become our 44th President on January 20, 2009.

We live in a country divided. White and black, rich and poor, have and have-nots. It's been that way for my entire life. But this one man was able to do something no one else before him could do. He was able to bring the two sides together, even if it was for only historic night this past Tuesday. Our country is in such a state of disarray that we as a people were willing to take a chance. We are in need of help and we were in no position as a country to deny the best candidate for change that we had in front of us simply due to the color of his skin. So we did something unprecedented in an attempt to make the lives of our citizens better. To make our country stronger. To restore our reputation and our pride. Whether or not any individual in this country agrees or disagrees with Barack Obama the man....Bravo on the decision to better ourselves regardless of our past beliefs and stigmas. We took a step forward as a nation Tuesday night. And as a society.

I hope that we look back four years or eight years from now and find ourselves in a better place. My gut tells me we will. Regardless of the GNP, the unemployment rate or the level of the Dow at the end of Obama's term, we have improved ourselves as a people. Let's keep it going. The writers of the Constitution would have been proud. I am. Regardless of how one voted on November 4, 2008, it was a good day to be an American and there haven't been a lot of those lately.

Headline from "Changes" by David Bowie, 1971