{"id":4792,"date":"2016-02-17T10:50:56","date_gmt":"2016-02-17T16:50:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maryanninprogress.com\/?p=4792"},"modified":"2016-02-17T10:46:32","modified_gmt":"2016-02-17T16:46:32","slug":"why-we-should-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maryanninprogress.com\/why-we-should-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Why We Should Care…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"comp\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Last weekend my oldest son became engaged. My first thought on this big development? I’m glad I’m here to enjoy this.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The longer I’m on the planet, the more I’m just happy to be here. I could have been dead at 39, when this son was only in junior high. Instead I’ve watched him graduate high school, graduate college, become financially independent, find the right girl, develop his own set of values (and I’m really impressed with those!) and now become engaged.<\/p>\n

I’ve watched his sister graduate high school and college, get married, finish her master’s, succeed in her job, and buy a home. She, too, has a great set of values and her hubby is rapidly becoming my favorite wry comedian (not to mention a successful entrepreneur), as well as more of a son than a son-in-law.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Their\u00a0younger brother is even coming into his own, slowly but surely. He has been beset by a lot of obstacles, but on Saturday he looked great, helped me set up a surprise party for the bride and groom-to-be and was conversing like a true adult at dinner. He has a responsible job, is starting to pay his own bills, and is aiming for that “Employee of the Month” title.<\/p>\n

I got to see all of this because I decided to care.<\/p>\n

The second thought through my head this past weekend?\u00a0Why can’t everyone see what I see?<\/em><\/p>\n

I actually know the answer to this question:\u00a0Because I had to go through life-and-death experiences to see what I see and most haven’t had that experience.<\/em><\/p>\n

What do I see?\u00a0Chronic complacency as our enemy. <\/em><\/p>\n

From where I sit, complacency will replace a democratic government with a socialist one. A socialist one can devolve\u00a0into chaos once other people’s money is exhausted to pay for everything that government wants to give its citizens. While I readily admit that we have people who seriously need help, I don’t like\u00a0forcing\u00a0<\/em>people to help others. I prefer that generosity to come from seeing\u00a0people hurting and choosing<\/em> to help, simply because one person has been blessed\u00a0a bit more than another.<\/p>\n

That sort of intervention comes from compassion and not from fear of non-compliance with government regulations. Such intervention often inspires the recipient to work harder to achieve their own dreams and then turn around and do something nice for another struggling person.<\/p>\n

From where I sit, complacency will teach your children to be lazy and to wait for life to come to them instead of\u00a0creating the life their Maker intended them to create.<\/em> Such creation is joy, even when struggles come their way–in fact, struggles are part of the creation journey and make success even more joyous! Wouldn’t you rather equip your children to handle such inevitable struggles, rather than let them whine about them and blame it on others? \u00a0Wouldn’t you rather let them dictate how their life will develop instead of letting others dictate that to them?<\/p>\n

From where I sit, complacency will also get you dead. Yes, dead. If you fail to address your health pretty regularly, you risk a premature death and your family not having you around to help. If you fail to vote\u00a0for change, chaos could result and people can die. All we have to do is look at Hitler’s reign in Germany for an object lesson in that kind of civic complacency.<\/p>\n

Yes, from where I sit, complacency is our biggest evil. So, look around. What can you<\/em> do to rid\u00a0your<\/em>\u00a0world of complacency? What can you<\/em> do to ensure you’re still around<\/em> to do this?<\/p>\n

Kennedy’s words are still important:\u00a0Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.\u00a0<\/em>Might I also add what can you do for your own health? Might I also add what can you do for your family, your city or town, your state and your fellow man?<\/p>\n

Now, get out there and go do it. No more excuses. No more complacency. Because you do<\/em> care.<\/p>\n

Friday’s Post:<\/strong> Slow Reader Friday..<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last weekend my oldest son became engaged. My first thought on this big development? I’m glad I’m here to enjoy this.\u00a0 The longer I’m on the planet, the more I’m just happy to be here. I could have been dead at 39, when this son was only in junior high. Instead I’ve watched him graduate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1328,1329,1327,1332,1330,1331],"yoast_head":"\nWhy We Should Care... | MaryAnn In Progress<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/maryanninprogress.com\/why-we-should-care\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why We Should Care... | MaryAnn In Progress\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last weekend my oldest son became engaged. My first thought on this big development? I’m glad I’m here to enjoy this.\u00a0 The longer I’m on the planet, the more I’m just happy to be here. 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