A Different Kind Of Christmas
Each year as Christmas season begins to go into full gear, we hear the complaint that Christmas has become commercialized and we have forgotten “The true meaning of Christmas.” When we make that observation, it must come from a nostalgic time, perhaps when we were children, and we remember Christmas being about the sacrifice of the Christ child and that the gifts we give reflect the gift of life that God has brought to us.
A Different Kind Of Christmas - 717 words
A Rich Retirement
Whether it is you who is approaching those golden years we call retirement or one of your loved ones is in those years, there is no question that making that transition from the working world and decades of responsibility and hard work is not always easy. The sudden change of lifestyle and that feeling of “no longer being useful” is one of the most difficult aspects of retirement and growing older. When you combine that with reduced activity and the natural decline in physical ability that aging brings, you have a powerful emotional transition to go through.
A Rich Retirement - 623 words
Can Mandatory Community Service Work?
Lots of organizations coordinate youth community service work. And you would be hard pressed to find anyone who would oppose the idea of kids pitching in and helping out make the community a better place for everybody to live. It’s good for the community because we are using that boundless energy and physical stamina of youth for a good cause. It’s good for the causes helped because there is no end of work to be done. And it’s good for the kids because it helps them think about other people, it gives them a strong sense of self-esteem and it helps them learn new skills and meet others in the community they might never meet otherwise.
Can Mandatory Community Service Work? - 638 words
Children Reaching Children
War is a terrible thing. And the war we are trying to get through right now sure has its share of brutality and loss of life. The sad thing is that it is the children who are most affected by such a war. And they are the ones who least understand what is going on around them.
Children Reaching Children - 719 words
Coming Together
There is something about community service that causes a sense of coming together that really is not possible in any other setting. When a community comes out either in time of crisis or when a big community project is in the works, you see a side of people that will not surface in their day to day world. This may be why community service projects that mobilize the population to get out and help others are so popular.
Coming Together - 623 words
Community Service Is A Family Affair
Sometimes we think our kids never listen to us. This can be a particularly difficult problem when kids become teenagers. It seems that no matter what we tell them, they just shrug and give us that obnoxious response of “whatever” and we make no impact at all.
Community Service Is A Family Affair - 715 words
Frats Are Not All Like “animal House”
When you think of a college fraternity, the traditional image of a hard drinking, party central place that encourages boys to skip class, seduce women and generally behave like animals seems to come to mind. Or we think of spectacular cases of fraternity hazings or movies that emphasize wild living at college fraternities like “Animal House”. This is the work of movies and the media who love to emphasize the light hearted side of college life.
Frats Are Not All Like “animal House” - 617 words
Getting The Government Out Of Community Service
We live in a time when we tend to look to the government to do a lot of things. For some reason, we tend to think that just because we have to pay taxes, it is our government’s job to fix everything that is broke and arrest anybody we don’t like. But if we can get a more rational view of what the government can do and moreover what it cannot do, we then can define what is local and should be handled by people in our own comity.
Getting The Government Out Of Community Service - 629 words
Helping Hands Around The World
When we think of community service, we almost always think in terms of our local community. And reaching out to those in your own town is truly the most dynamic type of community service. But there are dramatic examples of people who reached out beyond the city limits of where they lived to really make a difference in the lives of people around them.
Helping Hands Around The World - 690 words
How The Rich Really Get Richer
Somehow we have a fascination and sometimes a disgust toward the wealthiest people in our society. To be sure, they are the ones that get a lot of attention in the tabloids and television talk shows. And the paparazzi love them. But at the same time, we tend to look down on them. We assume that they are spoiled, perhaps got their wealth through unscrupulous means and that they cannot understand the day in day out struggles that the “common folks” go through every day.
How The Rich Really Get Richer - 688 words
It Takes A Village
A few years ago a book came out called “It Takes a Village” that created a stir. But the stir was probably because the author was Hillary Clinton more than the topic itself. But in this book Mrs. Clinton advanced the theory that in society, much of what we do that has value, including raising children is not just the work of individuals. It takes community action to make things of lasting value happen.’
It Takes A Village - 731 words
Jerry’s Kids
Forty one years. That is quite a long time. And that is how long Jerry Lewis has been going on television every single Labor Day to conduct the annual telethon to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. This phenomenal fund raising effort has set a high standard for achievement and has changed our view of Jerry Lewis from that of just a talented entertainer, actor and comic to one of the great philanthropists of our time.
Jerry’s Kids - 599 words
Merchants Reach Out
Sometimes we see some tremendous acts of community service that one of the really big businesses in town takes on. A huge international bank may donate some huge statue to the local park. A big oil company who has been in the city since it was started might fund a library or a new museum. When these things happen, those big businesses usually get their names attached to those projects. And while we are all grateful for the contribution these businesses make to our towns, nobody is kidding themselves that they just do that as part of smart business and to take the write off.
Merchants Reach Out - 606 words
Real Patriotism
Patriotism is a word that has gotten a lot of use in the last few years as more and more people try to define what patriotism is based on how much you fly your flag and how many magnets you have on your car. But the expression of patriotism we show at the fourth of the July when we cut loose with those fireworks or we shout in agreement at stirring patriotic speeches are not the kind of patriotism that makes this country as great as it is.
Real Patriotism - 716 words
Taking The Hell Out Of Hell’s Angels.
If you have bikers in your community, you can relate to that sense of anxiety you might feel when you see them riding in tandem down one of your city streets. If they are part of a “gang”, they might be wearing the uniform of a biker with the black leather, the emblems of skulls, tattoos and other things that can be pretty frightening as they ride along on their motorcycles.
Taking The Hell Out Of Hell’s Angels. - 690 words
Teens On A Mission From God
One of the many great lines from the classic movie The Blues Brothers was one that was delivered by Dan Ackroyd when he was explaining the importance of their need to get their blues band back together. He always explained that it was because, “We’re on a mission from God.”
Teens On A Mission From God - 671 words
The Church As Good Neighbor
There has been a lot of discussion going on about whether religion should be part of public life. This kind of theoretical discussion can be thrown around on national television shows. But anyone who lives in a community in any town in this country knows that the church is as vital a part of any community as the town hall, the library or the local swimming pool.
The Church As Good Neighbor - 680 words
The Evidence Of Eagles
Most of us at some point or another have met a young man who proudly includes in his credentials of his youth that he is an “Eagle Scout”. If you are not familiar with the program of the Boy Scouts of America, that might sound like a strange thing to list as great accomplishments of youth. But there is no question that Eagle Scouts are a unique classification of youth who carry that distinction with a unique pride. It seems that once a boy adds that credential to their resume, they carry that honor with them forever.
The Evidence Of Eagles - 658 words
The Good Lawyers
When you think of a lawyer, sometimes we get an image of high powered men in flashy suits charging $300 an hour to talk legal talk that nobody understands but other lawyers. And when we get those media images of lawyers in our heads, the idea of a lawyer who wants to use his or her specialized talent with the law and that extensive education they all have to have to practice law for community service work seems almost ridiculous.
The Good Lawyers - 621 words
The Greatest Generation
Not long ago, Tom Brokaw, a well known newsman and author wrote a book about the heroic sacrifices that the men and women during World War II made to stop Hitler and his allies and save our nation and the world from tyranny. The name of that book was The Greatest Generation. Now there is absolutely no question that the tremendous effort and self sacrifice that our grandfathers and grandmothers made during those dark days represents very best of what America is all about. We will never be able to thank them enough for what they did to preserve this great country for us and for our children.
The Greatest Generation - 611 words
The Miracle Of Habitat For Humanity
There may be no more recognizable organization name that comes to mind when we think of community service than Habitat for Humanity. This is an organization that does not view world poverty or reaching out to the disadvantaged as just subjects of speeches. Habitat for Humanity literally puts their backs into the mission of helping the disadvantaged, one home at a time.
The Miracle Of Habitat For Humanity - 605 words
The Power Of Working Together
All around the country, community service is powered by such a wide variety of organizations that it almost seems like they would trip over each other to find ways to help out those in need. The spirit of giving and the desire to help others is evidenced strongly in the work done by churches, charitable organizations, youth groups and social clubs that gather to pitch in and help. But when you think of community service, one organization stands out because their work literally grabs headlines by bringing together those dozens of organizations into one coordinated effort. That group is appropriately named The United Way.
The Power Of Working Together - 636 words
Those Men On Tiny Motorcycles And The Funny Hats
On the children’s cartoon, The Flintstones, Fred and Barney belong to a fraternal organization that takes up quite a bit of their time. It is called the Loyal Order of the Buffalo and their leader is the Grand Poobah. This is a funny reference to several important organizations that make a genuine contribution to the community through their many philanthropic and community service efforts. In almost every small town and big city in America there are a number of men’s fraternal organizations that gather together routinely, just like the Loyal Order of the Water Buffalo did on The Flintstones.
Those Men On Tiny Motorcycles And The Funny Hats - 678 words
What You Can Do For Your Country
At one time the method for keeping the armed forces supplied with young men was done with a draft in which some form of selection process required by law that young men just out of high school to join the military to serve a term of service. But in the 1970s, the United States moved to an all volunteer army and our nation has been defended by this type of military system ever since.
What You Can Do For Your Country - 692 words
What’s In It For Them?
Have you noticed how many of the really big businesses in every community always seem to also put a lot of effort into community service projects? If you look closely at the promotional material these companies put out, you would accept that the reason a business might decide to dedicated a few thousand or hundred thousands of dollars from their vast corporate coffers to help out the community because they “just want to give back to the great community we all live in.”
What’s In It For Them? - 697 words
Young Hands Making A Difference
What is the more important goal of any kid? Well if you are a kid or have a kid, you can guess the answer right away. It isn’t concerns about having enough to eat, where they will sleep or whether the bomb will be dropped tomorrow. No the worse fate that can befall a kid is summed up in one plea – “What can I do? I’m bored!”
Young Hands Making A Difference - 735 words