When I was a kid I didn’t hear my parents talk politics. They ran their own businesses and enjoyed their free time doing fun things. I recall many weekends hunting and fishing, and boating at the lake house. They encouraged us kids to pursue extracurricular activities in middle and high school. I was a band geek until high school then transitioned to speech and debate. I had a fun childhood.
Mom and Dad always had good attitudes, and taught me to work hard and be optimistic. My parents showed me the difference a good attitude makes. Dad never considered not being successful at his business so it grew bigger and more successful every year. Mom was the model Zig Ziglar acolyte. She had (and still does) a positive mental attitude to the extreme, which resulted in her being a multimillion-dollar producer with both her real estate brokers, first Century 21, then Lou Smith Realty. Mom made me attend motivational seminars with her in high school. Zig Ziglar’s See You At The Top is still one of my favorite books of all time.
The early 80’s real estate crash hit them hard. It’s the only time in my childhood I remember them sharing negative thoughts. Yet, they pressed onward and turned lemons into lemonade when that’s all they had to work with. They were never defeated, and were always positive around us. As far as I knew, the economy was always great and thankfully they never made excuses, they just worked a little harder every now and then.
My childhood would have been very different if all my parents did was complain and moan about this or that politician, and this or that obstacle. Their economic future wasn’t dependent on one political party or another winning an election. It depended on their own blood, sweat and tears.
“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” —Teddy Roosevelt
What’s the point? Simple. We must latch on to the good news we’ve heard the past couple of days regarding a V-shaped economic recovery and get to work. Stop complaining about our leaders in D.C. and Topeka, at least from 8-5 now that we can go back to work and get something productive done. Imagine if that’s what we did between now and the August primary, then pressed into it again until the November 2020 elections. There are more than enough people wearing sackcloth and ashes to inform voters of the issues between now and these critical dates. Putting the time to best use by priming the economic pump so we take back what Covid-19 took from us is the absolute best thing all of us can do to regain the freedoms we were forced to give up during this awful season.
When I get worked up about things I have no control over I tend to neglect things I do control, which is very unlike Mom and Dad. Why get stressed and anxious when friends of different political persuasions express ideas I think are bonkers? Why should they get worked up when I share ideas they think are nuts? Just listen kindly, watch 30 minutes of news to get caught up, read a few choice online news journals, then get to work doing positive, productive things, sometimes with those friends who don’t always agree with me.
Today, my parents are very politically engaged. Why today when they weren’t when I lived at home? They retired. Now, when Dad isn’t fishing or hunting, and both aren’t working on their real estate properties, they are calling me to talk politics. They must have too much free time on their hands.
Paid for by the Committee to re-elect Judge Kevin Mark Smith 