Legacy of 9/11: Dare NOT to Forget

"Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: 'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.'” ~President George W. Bush September 11, 2001.

"I told him (the Lieutenant) I wasn't leaving...We were still missing one guy..."  ~Patrick Martin, NYFD


Where were YOU on that fateful morning of September 11, 2001?

Wherever you and I were that morning geographically, we were forevermore changed at our core individually, spiritually, and as a nation. We watched the images of selfless men and women, from everyday citizens to professional public safety personnel, struggling to save as many lives as possible in the aftermath of the airliners being overtaken by terrorists.

For a period of time, we were one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Partisanship ceased to be a defining factor as all elected officials stood side-by-side and citizenry pulled together to bury our dead with dignity...to restore normalcy...to bring justice to bear upon those responsible for the heinous act of cowardice.

As we approach and move past the tenth anniversary of that fateful morning, the bipartisan honeymoon has been over for some time as rancorous partisanship ascended again. Political lines again became more important than unemployment lines. Our courageous citizens have been buffeted by economic turmoil, financial insecurity, and future uncertainty. Our selfless police officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel across the nation find themselves shorn of their numbers as federal, state and municipal bureaucrats seek to balance fiscal year budgets.

Communities suffering vacancies amidst the mortgage foreclosure crisis now risk being branded as underprotected as line items for public safety take precedence over actual manpower needs at firehouses and police stations across this nation. We mistakenly save a few dollars today at the expense of the safe neighborhoods and attractive communities of tomorrow.

Our elected officials will have now attempted to revive that unified feeling amidst banners, flags, and slogans to commemorate the 10th anniversary, but they must do more than window-dress the very real transformation that this nation underwent that morning and in the days that followed. Instead, genuine bipartisan problem solvers must work together in a professional and collegial fashion once again. This time their legislative efforts won't be about enacting anti-terror legislation, but in that same spirit of cooperation they must recommit to working together to ensure that firefighters, police officers, emergency personnel, school teachers and other selfless public servants are not reduced like some faceless, nameless budget line item.

Stand up, stand together, and restore our neighborhoods and communities so that we can once again be that Shining City upon the Hill that we have always been. God bless our public servants and may God Bless America!

COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP: ELIMINATE THE NATIONAL DEBT

"There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no one independence quite so important, as living within your means." ~Calvin Coolidge

"Good business or investment decisions will eventually produce quite satisfactory economic results, with no aid from leverage." ~Warren Buffett


Eliminating the National Debt will require shared courage from the electorate as well as rare courage from our elected officials. Decades of discussing the National Debt has done absolutely nothing to decrease its size or reduce its rate of growth. I propose that the newly-chosen Congressional Debt Committee could learn a thing or two from American consumers who--despite unemployment challenges and rapidly rising costs of necessities (i.e. food, gasoline)--have continued to reduce their dependence upon consumer credit. The communities we live in are tightening their own budgetary belts as municipalities are forced to make difficult decisions that potentially reduce public safety and/or the quality of recreational life in those communities.

In our communities we are faced daily with personal and professional choices regarding business infrastructure investments and expenditures. We must maintain our walk-in refrigeration units and industrial ovens in good working order. We must stock our restrooms with anti-bacterial soap and toilet paper. At home, our children require functional footwear and school supplies to return to school for the new term. While we may manage our business and personal finances through the responsible use of revolving credit, we do do knowing fully that the bill must be paid on time. Even the mortgage on our business site or our home requires a timely payment lest we forfeit our very location from which we operate or live.

Despite the vitriolic rhetoric across the political spectrum, the National Debt is not the sole responsibility or fault of one political party. Our nation has increased the size of the debt under Administrations and Congresses overseen by both major political parties. Even when the Budget has occasionally been balanced, the National Debt has not magically disappeared. Real National Debt Solutions do not derive from passive-aggressive behavior between political parties, factions within parties, or squabbles between branches of government. While financial woes are often cited as a primary cause of marital dissolution or bankruptcy, our nation cannot seek such similar options.

Instead, much as our families, our employees, our neighbors and our mayors have done with courage, our national leaders must step up their level of fiscal leadership and make difficult long-term decisions. Voters have an opportunity each election cycle to send the most qualified Representatives and Senators to Washington, D.C. and it is incumbent upon those elected leaders to put aside debts owed to special interests, opportunities for cable news soundbites, and ultimatum floor speeches and instead do what many day-to-day business owners and families have done: (1) starve the urge to spend beyond one's means; and (2) identify savings.

Professionally and personally, we know when it's time to put away the credit card. For those who cannot control their own debt accumulation, that urge is cured externally by creditors withdrawing existing (or refusing additional) credit privileges. Secondly, we seek savings to reduce our cash outlay, a process that is not without its own pain. Reducing less productive staff, eliminating accustomed perks, or closing unprofitable locations are among the value-added decisions that we must make to grow our businesses during challenging economic times. At home we may eat out less, change insurance carriers, or curtail a costly club membership.

Our national leaders must put their respective personal leadership credibility on the line without partisanship. Decide once and for all to spend within revenue receipts and identify and execute swiftly the savings that can be had from a close, unbiased examination of the federal expenditures. The courage to lead doesn't imply that one will remain popular enough to survive re-election, but the prospect of future electoral defeat shouldn't deter a leader from making fiscally responsible decisions.

Today, as an elected official, accept the mantle of fiscal leadership.
Today, as a voter, accept the obligation to elect committed fiscal leaders instead of partisan mouthpieces betrothed to special interest lobbyists.
Together, let us restore balance and fiscal pride to our communities, our states and our greatest nation on Earth.