As we survey the social, economic and political issues around us, it is rather easy to become dismayed. I know. I have felt so overwhelmed at times that I was ready to curl up into a fetal ball and let the world move on without my participation. Upon further reflection, I decided that withdrawal wasn’t an effective strategy for dealing with our nation’s problems. I have children and grandchildren whose lives will be sorely limited by the onerous direction our land is pursuing. My obligation as the patriarch of our little clan is to preserve and protect their liberties to the best of my limited ability. And so….I have determined that if I cannot make all the difference in our national drift, I must make some difference….have some impact….do my share….if only a little bit.
Faced with an aging body that is reaping the consequences of a lifetime of unhealthy living, I find that my energy and my capabilities are limited. Even if I had an engorged super-hero complex, the aching bones and rigid nap times would minimize my capacity for turning things around. Some of you (the ones with bluer hair or fewer hairs) may remember the Brylcreme commercials. “A little dab will do ya’” they confidently stated about the unmovable hair grease. That’s where I am these days….dibbing and dabbing and hoping to motivate those who have more strength and energy than I have. I let the Founders and Framers carry the wood and start the fire. I’m the old guy with the poker in my hand who stirs the fire from time to time …. hoping to keep it going until the youngsters can haul in more fuel for the hearth and raise the temperature for the nation.
One of the advantages of growing older (aside from the obvious one of being on TOP of the grass) is that as one’s physical abilities diminish, one’s wisdom about how and when to get physical increases ( well, usually ). It’s called “choosing the moment.” Usually a crisis or opportunity emerges and I engage in frenzied activity to address it followed by high-intensity napping. Some of my “little bits” take place in the middle of the night as I spring awake from a deep slumber. It may be the “call of nature” that sets off my internal alarm or the throbbing sensation in my battered knees that interrupt my sleep. Facing the improbability of returning to the blissful quiet of a sound sleep, I stumble to the office to write some profound words about how our government is destroying our personal liberties. For me and perhaps for you also, the act of reviewing my writing recaptures the slumber bug and allows me to drift off for a couple more hours.
The purpose of this column isn’t to regale you with my sleep habits or patterns, but to suggest that each of us can do a little bit beyond thinking about our problems. If you wake in the middle of the night, write a letter to the editor or to a politician….that will put you back to sleep. As a cautionary note, I recommend that you review the letter in the morning before mailing it. Trust me on this. You don’t wish to be placed on another “watch list” just because you engaged in highly inflammatory language at 3:00am. Many of you are gardeners and you can take a short amount of time during lunch (the hottest time of day) to jot a note or an email expressing your concerns. The little bits for most of us can be squeezed into precious moments between activities or when first arising or at bedtime.
Most of us have neither the time nor the talent to accomplish great things for liberty. Our personal “little bits of difference” can add to the efforts of others. Cumulatively we can combine our “bits” and move the nation back to its moorings. Let me be clear here at the risk of offending you. Just attending the meetings and reading the email threads is not enough. Those efforts are pre-“little bits.” It’s the next step of involvement that moves you from a mere participant to a neophyte activist. Little bits by citizens who love liberty can seem like incessant drops of water torture to those politicians who believe they can woo us then ignore us. Little bits of letter writing and email campaigns may convince the editorial pages and program directors that we are here, we are angry, we are serious and we are numerous.
Even if you or I may not have the strength and endurance to lead the charge up Liberty Hill, we can do our little bits by loading the cartridges, holding the horses and joining the swarm when our stronger leaders reach the crest. Every little bit helps. Every little bit is needed. Every little bit counts.
