Earn This

[Hayden Collins]

Earn this

 

Children learn what they live.  Our parents and grandparents have told us how it was for them, growing up faced with difficult issues during the Great Depression and World War II, and how their generation often rose to the occasion – and this ethic, this expectation gave them strength as individuals and cohesiveness as a community.   On the other hand, generations that have grown up with conditions of excessive government spending on social programs developed expectations to continue those conditions, with a lack of self-sufficiency and contributions to their community.  The current leadership is part of the generation that has set an example of taxing and spending and depending. Each learned what they lived, and expects to pass it down to the next generation.

 

As we get nearer to the crossroads of the generation decision, everyone can see that it will not be an easy one to face.  Our generation will be tasked with recovery from accumulated debt and the issues that were imposed upon us by those who went before us.  It is for us to choose – not to blame all possible causes and do nothing while we expect the phantom evildoers to repair the damage.  Government does not shrink itself.  A new example of strong leadership is needed for the generation that is to follow. 

 

What do we want our children to learn?  In the movie “Saving Private Ryan”, the Captain who was tasked with the mission to bring Ryan to the safety of the rear is shot at the end of the movie.  His last words to Ryan are, "Earn this."  Ryan has a new mission in life: earn the sacrifice that was made by many to save his life.

 

What have we learned from those who have gone before us, and the commitments they have upheld to provide better lives for their children?  Advances in science, business, technology, and communications have brought us advantages they never dreamed of – and a debt beyond their worst nightmares.  It is our turn now to face difficult issues. Doing nothing but finger-pointing is not an option.  As our country was recently reminded, $4 trillion in cuts must be made in the months ahead to avoid further downgrading.

 

Unless we make the commitment to face up to this out-of-control spending spree – now – children coming into the world today will be swallowed by debt from their first breath on arrival to the last breath they draw.   The commitments and sacrifice that have been for us must not be wasted.  Yes, there is risk as we make this change in course, and yes, sacrifice will be required.  Let us provide the example that will give the next generation something more positive than what we face today.

 

Something else we teach our children: a penny saved is a penny earned.  It will take a LOT of pennies, but we have to start – each one of us, at our kitchen tables, and at the tables of our state and federal representatives. The sacrifices we make now will lift this burden from the shoulders of the future.  This is the example we must set for the next generation: Earn this.