I couldn't stop thinking that this whole economic downturn our country has been going through might be good for us...even necessary.  Now, I know that doesn't sound right, especially when many of us are having a hard time filling our stomachs and our gas tanks, or paying the rent.  But give me just a second to explain...  

The America that was made great in the past came through great adversity.  The founders of our nation fought tooth and nail to establish a new country and government, then they fought to maintain it in the years following the revolution.  It was anything but easy.  

Our parents and grandparents struggled through the Great Depression and rallied together to win World War II.  There was great sacrifice involved and a lot of working together for the common good.  Folks did without so that natural resources could be reserved for the war.  

I recently watched the great HBO miniseries, John Adams, based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book by David McCullough.  It's brilliant and well worth renting if, like me, you don't get HBO.  The series paid close attention to the details and showed that folks who lived in the 18th century had it HARD.  They worked their own fields, shingled their own roofs, did their laundry on a washboard, heated their homes with wood--they had to chop, and stack.  Nothing came easy.  After his presidency, Adams returned to his farm in Massachusetts and worked the fields, built stone walls by hand, shoveled snow.  The former president of the United States!  The Commander in Chief!  Not his assistant's assistant, but the man himself.  He and wife, Abigail Adams were ashamed that the White House had been built using slave labor.  They believed honest, hard work and treating each man or woman fairly was the way to preserving a great country.  

I on the other hand, expected a medal after pulling some some monsoon-sprouted weeds in my backyard  for a couple of hours on Saturday.   I've become soft.  I think we all have.

Perhaps it's just me.  Maybe I'm the only one who feels we've lost a sense of working together for the greatness of our community, our society, our country.  (In which case you're thinking out your scathing rebuttle right about now...)  I don't know my neighbors, they don't seem to venture out of the air conditioning very often.  I must admit, without the dog needing walks and weeds needing to be pulled, I might not either.

History teaches us that the lazy and weak are easily over thrown.  In the "Adams" mini-series, the French aristocracy appeared so culturally developed and focused on the finer things in life, they couldn't be bothered to notice that the revolution which would overthrow them was brewing right under their noses.  

So while things are currently harder than they have been in quite awhile here in the USA, I'm thinking of this tough time like "our measles shot," an innoculation, that, if we can learn from it, might make us stronger in the future.  

For me, that means complaining less, helping others more and just being thankful for what I have.  How about you?