Comments on: Transformation through simple things

By: Steve H. Perdue

Steve H. Perdue — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:52:00 +0000

As you imply…many parents have always done this and now some of us see our kids doing it within their families and it is and always will be the way to transform the world or the state…one family at a time. It has never been nor will it ever be the government that makes sustainable change for the better. Its role is to make it possible for families and individuals to make change and do good…and stay out of the way!

By: dale westrick

dale westrick — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:50:14 +0000

I think Marks comments about reading to our children and eating meals togeather go a long way to prevent the problems we are now experiencing in our society. My wife always read to our children and most of the time we ate meals togeather whenever possibile. Now that our children are grown up and we have 10 grandchildren she reads to the grandchildren that are local. For the ones that are at a distant we purchase two idenical books at the used book store. We send one to our sons house and keep the other book. My wife will read a book by phone to the grand children that live at a distance.

By: A Giver

A Giver — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:01:30 +0000

Yes, Mark is indeed a smart man to understand that spending and making time for things, like reading to your children, or making sure that you sit down to a meal, with your family is something significant that we all can do.

However we need to remember that not all families even have their basic needs met (no jobs, no healthcare, losing homes, etc.) just to survive and are simply struggling just to stay off the streets.

You can bet that it would be hard to think of spending time reading books to your children or even to having the thought of sitting down to the dinner table to share a meal when either you don’t have a book to read, a table to sit down at, or have enough food to eat—or are living with the fear of losing those things.

That to me is more of what we, as a society, should be most concerned about right now.

Why not instead spend time together as a family helping at a soup kitchens, homeless shelters, or mission houses, or with helping to build a home with Habitat for Humanity.

Children living in shelters have few possessions –if any– including toys. Homeless parents have more urgent demands on what little money they have, such as food and clothing. So often these children have nothing to play with and little to occupy their time. Your family can make a project of donating toys, books, and games to family shelters to distribute to homeless children.

Every one of us has something we can give the homeless (without government having to fulfill that need). Wherever our interests may lie–cooking, repairing, gardening, and photography–we can use them for the homeless. Through our hobbies, we can teach them useful skills, introduce them to new avocations and perhaps point them in a new direction.

These are all things we can do to enrich and reward our own families, in our daily lives, through our giving and sharing with those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

“This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.” ~Theodore Roosevelt

By: Jeff Salisbury

Jeff Salisbury — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:42:03 +0000

“That common sense and wisdom bowled me over.”
— Gee, if reading and eating dinner together are so wonderful for the society, just imagine what could happen if we could provide health care for it too.