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According to a recent Rasmussen survey, 80% of adult Americans had some sort of family meal in celebration of Easter.  And, 61% said they would attend church services.  Another poll conducted by the same firm showed that 83% of adults believe Jesus actually walked the earth some 2,000 years ago. 

Nearly 8 in 10 respondents believe Jesus was the Son of God.  And, 74% say He rose from the dead.  Why, then, does a relatively small but vocal number of our follow citizens insist on ignoring or trying to undermine the beliefs of so many by trying to downplay or in some instances ban the public celebration of Christmas and Easter?

Research confirms this nation is strongly Christian.  Yet, every year the politically correct, the atheists and the anti-Christian segment of the population go all-out to exercise their Constitutional rights in an effort to trample on the rights of those practicing their freedom of religion during the most important events of Christianity: the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Religious, or at least spiritual, holidays are among the most important days of the year for Americans.  Christmas is ranked first followed by Fourth of July (Independence Day), Thanksgiving and Easter.  Close behind are Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day.  Rounding out the top spots are Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Labor Day followed all the others.

New Seniors, those 65+, represented the highest percentages of people believing Jesus is the Son of God and that He rose from the dead, 83% agreed with both statements.  Among respondents less than 40 years of age 74% believed Christ was the Son of God.  However, when it came to the resurrection, 71% of the 18 to 29 age group believed compared to 62% of those 30 to 39.  About 8 out of 10 in the 40 to 49 and 50 to 64 age groups indicated they believed in both statements.

Americans who care about their heritage and beliefs should not hesitate to stand strong and unite in opposing the forces that would strip Christians of the right to publically celebrate their religious holidays.  Christians have long been advocates for others to have religious freedoms in America and around the world. 

Most of those of other religions do not try to remove the Christian symbols of Christmas or Easter.  It is the bureaucrats and elected officials that are all too willing to cave under pressure from opposition groups for fear of losing votes.  People of faith should tell them what the above numbers show.  Then, they may realize who has the most votes.

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In childhood the focus was to have fun.  No one said this was my purpose, but early on I discovered that doing the things boys do was most enjoyable.  These things almost always involved other kids such as playing ball, roughhousing and just hanging out together.  These activities, even board games and cards, were all stimulating and usually had one common goal: to win.

As an only child I did things on my own like read, listen to the radio adventure series or later watch TV, practice various sports and, of course, do homework.  But being part of a group and succeeding within that community and competing with other communities is what I liked best.  The team was my family and my support group, yet I wanted to be the star that shined above all others and receive the attention that goes with it.

This self centered, selfish attitude, which I preferred to call ambition, was with me during the growing years to college and beyond.  When I first got into the business world, my eye was not on my peers but on the presidency of the firm.  Being number one was not just a goal, it became an obsession.  I vowed to do whatever it took to reach the top.

Such a strong desire for money, power and recognition was profitable for the companies I worked for and the clients I served; but it did little for my relationships, both in and outside of business.  For a guy who once thrived on belonging to a community and being part of a team this misplaced commitment left me rather lonely.

One would think that these empty feeling lead to a change of spirit.  However, the result was to push harder and win no matter what the cost.  I finally received a degree of success, but it wasn’t enough because chasing after more always meant I wanted more.  After many years this realization finally sunk in, it caused me to rethink my life and the self-imposed goals I placed on myself, which were actually restrictions. 

Admittedly, I wasn’t a particularly good husband, father or friend for my first 50 years or so but have gotten better in all these areas, I believe.  The few business dealings I have now are meaningful, because I try to do what’s right and deliver real value to the other person or company.  And, I get real joy from just being part of whatever community I am in and make whatever contributions I can without expectations.

When it’s all said and done, today I’m pretty much having the fun like I did as a kid.  Now, however, there are no preconceptions of needing to be the best.  I am more than satisfied to be together with others and participate in life’s activities.  The big shift is with my goals.  I no longer strive to do great things; I just want to do good things.  

Since an overwhelming majority of adults are for prayer in our nation’s schools, why has the practice been all but eliminated?  Continued attacks by individuals and small yet vocal groups, including the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) have been orchestrated over the years to make this country free from religion rather than one that subscribes to freedom of religion.

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In a little over 200 years we have gone from a nation under God to one that sparks protests by the very mention of a Creator.  Removing God from the Pledge of Allegiance, our coins and public events is the goal of those who resent and even fear the fact that our country was established on Judeao-Christian principles.  So the naysayers will continue to chip away at accepted practice, because most folks are too busy with their lives to mount an effort against those opposing God as important to most Americans.

A breakdown of the recent Rasmussen Report on this subject shows that women favor prayer in school by 70% versus 59% for men.  More than 60% of all age groups favored it, with those 65+ being the highest at 71%.  White and black respondents came in at 66% and 67% respectively while the broad category of others was 57%.

Regarding the importance of religious faith in daily life 54% of the sample said it was very important and 32% claimed it was somewhat important for a combined positive total of 73%.  The “important” response increases with each age cell from 58% for those 18 to 29 to 82% with New Seniors.  Among blacks this was 91% and fell to 71% with whites and 70% for those in the other category.

When asked how often do you pray, 83% of the answers ranged from several times a day to every day to occasionally.  Only 15% said they rarely or never pray.  However, nearly a third (35%) of the 18 to 29 age group does not pray; just 7% of those 65+ made the same statement.  About 22% of men don’t pray compared to 10% of women.  When race is considered, 18% of whites and 13% of others do not pray while this drops to an low of 1% among blacks.

Cleary, the results show this is a nation that believes in God and relies on this Higher Power to guide and help its citizens through their daily lives.  But the people have allowed their beliefs to be hijacked by more passionate disbelievers.  This may be part of the reason younger Americans consider religion and prayer less important than their elders.  However, this could simply be a reflection of youthful independence and self-reliance that will change with maturity.

Rather than let our very foundation be destroyed, we must ask our elected representatives to fight to preserve this country as one nation under God.  A little more faith for all of us is needed if we hope to prevail over the disruptive forces, both within and outside, who strive to pull us down.  Please do your part.  God bless America.   

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Growing up in a Christian home, the young man knew about the Christmas story.  He saw it in the tableaus performed at his church, on television and, in those days, at school as well.  However, he liked the jingle of sleigh bells signaling the arrival of Santa Claus rather than the singing of angels heralding the birth of Jesus.

In fact, the boy grew up with a distant relationship with God and His Son.  And when he prayed, which was rarely, the petitions were usually a list of things he wanted for himself.  You might say his God was more like Santa Claus.  The only other time he spoke to God was when he was in trouble and needed help to get through the problem.  After the crisis passed, he returned to his old ways as if nothing had happened.

As the boy turned into a man, he became more separated from the religious training of his childhood.  He was blessed with a good education and had a promising job.  So there was no need to lean on God.  If problems came, he knew what to do.  But, he always enjoyed Christmas, the holiday spirit and the endless string of parties.

The partying become the most important part of the season for him.  Then this behavior took on a year-round role in his life.  Years of debauching caused him to lose out in the business world.  Friends drifted away.  And, finally, he alienated his family.

Alone and broken in every way, the man at middle-age thought his life was over.  In desperation, he called out to God and begged for help in a way that only the helpless can.  He did not know that his prayer was answered, but he did feel different.  There was no way to describe it, but the hopelessness was replaced with hopefulness.

That night, he wandered into a Christmas Eve service at a nearby church.  As the congregants acted out the biblical story, he realized the true meaning of Christmas.  The man came to believe that God wanted His greatest creation, mankind, to be free, live side-by-side in harmony and love one another as He loves us.  And, the Baby in the manger is the symbol of this love.

Many years have come and gone, but the man, now a New Senior, has not forgotten the life changing experience of that one Christmas Eve.  He realized that God was there to help and comfort him always and in all ways.  And God’s gift, Jesus, would show him the way.  Knowing we live under this Grace is reason enough to make every day Christmas.            

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Those of us born between 1930 and 1945, once known as pre-boomers and now the core of the New Seniors movement, grew up learning and understanding this kind of philosophy.  It was laid out to us as the way to live life.  Our parents and other family members showed us how this worked.  School teachers, the clergy, scout masters and a host of personal role models taught us about the value of this kind of service.  Now it’s our turn to pass it on.

Boomers start turning 65 next year at the rate of one every ten seconds, and this will continue through 2030.  As they join the ranks of the New Seniors, about 4 million of them will turn 65 each year for the next 19 years, uncharted territory will be forged.  Because never having been 65 before opens up an entirely new experience for the boomer generation.  Where do they get the insight and advice to help make this transition as smooth as possible?  They’ll look to the people who have successfully moved on to this phase of life, those who are already New Seniors.

Don’t expect to see New Seniors lecturing to the recent batch joining them.  Rather current New Seniors will continue to do what they’ve been doing.  The newer folks can learn by watching what we do and pitching in when and where they can.  Sorta like on-the-job training when we were new to the workforce, although nothing formal.  All it takes is to connect with New Seniors and join them in being of service.

The whole idea is to make this country the best possible place we can for trailing generations, particularly our grand children and great grand children.  We’ve been through the trials and tribulations of life of the business years or soon will be.  So our efforts are not money oriented.  Instead we are trying to make a difference by improving the quality of life in small, sometimes hardly noticeable, increments.  This is not for us but for others: family, friends, neighbors and the well-being of the country.

For instance, the New Seniors’ presence is important in mentoring kids, helping people gain new job skills or volunteering to be of service to those in nursing homes and other facilities.  We have the know-how and the time to make a difference.  More of us are inspired to give back what was so freely given to us, so we are getting involved.

Are you satisfied with what’s going on?  Do you fear the American dream is being compromised?  Is helping someone besides yourself of interest to you?  If you’re not already stepping up to the challenges that we all face, there’s no better time to join other New Seniors to plant those shade trees for future generations.       

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Younger Americans tend to look at the previous decade along with the ten year age group in which they find themselves believe as the best years.  This is understandable since they have not yet to experience life.  The poll further indicated that as folks get older the popularity of various decades spreads out, undoubtedly based on events that occurred during these periods in the aging process.  After 30, aside from their own age bracket, the 40 to 49 years are rated the best by every group except one, that being the 65+ group.

The worse years, according to all age groups, was 65 and over.  Interestingly, 35% of those who had already reached this age named it the worse years of life closely followed by the upcoming 50 to 64 group with 32%.  About a quarter of all other groups considered 65+ to be the most undesirable years that lay ahead.

Men rate their lives better (65%) compared to women (54%). Digging into the data uncovered other significant findings. For instance, 65% of married respondents rated life today as good to excellent compared to 52% for those not married.  However, children living at home evoked a positive answer from 54% of respondents versus 66% for those with no children, also know as empty nesters.  Income had an escalating affect on ratings, increasing from 69% believing life is good to excellent for the $50K-$75K bracket to 82% for those making $75K-$100K and rising to 89% for those earning $100K or more.   

Employment status determined response ratings too.  About 60% of government workers indicated their lives as good to excellent.  This increased to 68% for those employed in the private sector and dropped to 57% for retired people.  Yet, the highest percentage (63%) answering this question by saying life is good to excellent was those 65+. 

New Seniors, those born between 1930 and 1945, seem to believe in the adage that people are about as happy as they allow themselves to be.  Active people tend to be happier people.  Of respondents 65+, 45% felt is was better to work part-time and 47% volunteered for church, community or charitable groups within the past month.  This group also believed, by a margin of nearly four to one, that living according to a religious faith would make America a better place.

Younger age groups will gain from life’s experiences, and in the years to come may develop similar attitudes as today’s New Seniors.  Those currently 65+ will be there for the boomers as they start turning 65 next year.  All the while these New Seniors will continue to be of service with family, friends and in the community; because they accept the responsibility to give back to others what was so freely given to them.

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Look at the problems out there: major unemployment, out-of-control spending, investments and savings going nowhere, deflation or inflation  ready to strike at any moment, tax increases looming, medical coverage rates up with services down, more taxes to come, unprotected borders, foreign forces threatening America and more.  On top of this, the foods we love are killing us.  Hanging on to the barrage of negative information slung at us each day is having faith in the worst rather than the best life has to offer, which eliminates of hope.

Expecting negative outcomes allows one to predict the future, control the results and then say, “See I told you things were lousy.”  To make this self-fulfilling prophecy become a reality, requires ignoring the good that surrounds us.  These blessings are abundant, even if we refuse to see them.  Only by letting go of the negative are we free to open our hearts and minds to the positive things that come into our lives.

This sounds simpler than it is, because we live in a “problem/solution” world.  For years, we’ve been instructed to identify the problem, analyze it, develop a plan and implement it in order to solve the problem.  This causes us to focus on problems rather than live in the solution.  “What’s that,” you say?  Everything we encounter is not a problem.  Look at them as situations, because if you can’t make a direct contribution to resolving the matter, it’s probably not your problem.  It belongs to someone else.  Situations don’t demand your personal attention the way problems do.  So why worry about it?

Don’t think for a minute that this is a head-in-the-sand approach to living comfortably in today’s world.  Nothing of the kind.  It is a common-sense way of being able to make a difference where and when you can while not being bogged down with problems that you can’t resolve.  This is more a tend to your own knitting way of participating in life.  Your job is to sort through the situations until you find a problem that deserves your attention and your involvement can make a difference.

The place to start is at home, then branch out to friends and eventually the community in which you live – like dropping a pebble in the pond and following the concentric circle as the move out.  Being of service is a concept that works.  It will allow you to get outside yourself  by helping others with their problems.  The more you do this, the fewer problems you seem to have.  And if you think the government is a problem, vote for someone who you rely on to fix things.  In the meantime reach out and accentuate the positive, chances are you’ll find real solutions for living.   

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Recently my friend announced that his mother was ill, I told him I’d pray for her.   His retort was, “Anyone that talks to someone when there’s no one else in the room, is crazy.”  I asked, “You think I’m crazy?”  To which he replied, “No, I just think prayer and all that religious stuff is crazy.”  The time was not right to take the matter further. 

Had we continued the conversation on the subject of God, I would have related my belief that the universe and the world, as we know it, did not happen by accident.  There is too much order involving too many complex things for creation to be a random act and that somehow life, in all forms, coincidently evolved over hundreds of millions of years without an intelligent plan in place.  I find it hard to accept the notion that we came to exist without purpose and there are no reasons for us being here other than to toil and eventually die.  How depressing is that?

At one time, I thought I had all the answers and was the center of the universe.  Therefore there was little room for others in my life, including God.  One day I ran out of answers.  There was nowhere to turn and I didn’t know what to do.  I couldn’t ask God for help, since I felt He had turned His back on me, even though it was the other way around.  Then a man offered to let me use his God for awhile until I found a new God, a personal God.  I was desperate, so I tried praying to his God.  It worked.  Over the years, I learned to have faith and trust in my Higher Power.  I connect through daily prayer, not asking for what I want but for Him to provide me with what I need to do His will.  Then, I’m ready to go out and deal with life on life’s terms, knowing there’s a rhythm, a balance and a purpose in God’s plan.  I’m not enlightened enough to see it, but I can feel it.  And, I trust it will all be good in the long run.

I theorize that after creation was completed and the forces of nature were working the way God planned, He inserted mankind into the equation and made us different than the other inhabitants of this earth.  We have free will, which is why our job is to stop thinking about ourselves and start building meaningful relationships with other people – family, friends, neighbors, people at work, the store clerk, everyone.   In other words, treat them the way we want to be treated.

The way I see it, the more we strive to be in touch with our higher self, the closer we are to our Higher Power.  You may have a different opinion based on your personal experiences.  I have no conflict with that; because in America, each of us is free to believe or disbelieve as we choose.  It just seems to work better if besides wanting good things for me, I hope good things happen for you too.  What could be better than that?   

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Webster’s dictionary tells us that being rich means having more money or income producing property than is necessary to satisfy ones normal needs.  Wealthy connotes grand living.  Affluent suggests a continuing increase in riches and a commitment to lavish spending, and opulent is an even greater display of wealth.  And the last definition to consider is what many of us pre-boomers would like to be: well-to-do, which implies sufficient prosperity for easy living.

All of the above synonyms have to do with material riches.  None suggest mental or spiritual riches.  And the other uses of the word rich have to do with abundance of natural resources, something of value, sumptuous food, quality ingredients, deep sounds and intense colors and fragrant perfumes, the mixture of gas to air in a carburetor, as well as very amusing or absurd humor.  Of course, the antonym for rich is poor.  This leaves a great deal of gray area between the two extremes.  In financial terms it’s the middle class, in mental attitude it may mean feeling okay, but in spiritual terms there is no in-between: you’re either rich or poor.

To me, the spiritual condition is a gift from which a positive attitude is developed and material success begins.  This is not suggesting a religious affiliation is the answer, although this might help, rather it is the realization that true happiness and abundance cannot be bought.  When this is properly internalized it is manifested externally.  Look at all the people of the pre-boomer generation have been through over the past 65 to almost 80 years.  Now look at your own life.  Pretty impressive overall, wouldn’t you say? 

So, if it’s not the money that makes life worthwhile, how do you explain this to those younger than we are?  This is not easy; they’ve been conditioned, by us and others, to judge success by how much money they make.  Now we have an obligation to pass on whatever little pearls of wisdom we picked up along the way in order to help them face life on life’s terms, because after the economy fires up again – it always has and it always will – they are going to be raising a family, working, trying to save for the future, and caught up in the rush of daily living.

If you just share with them some of the riches you amassed over the years, things like: caring, understanding, patience, helpfulness, acceptance, gratefulness, and trust in things to come; they’ll be richer for it and you’ll be richer for having done it.  That’s the kind of wealth no one can ever take away.

phrase from the Declaration of Independence is the corner stone on which our nation was built.  So what does this have to do with health care reform?

Being born with these rights suggests that all citizens of this country are to be given equal opportunities to live the life they have been given, freely, and in a way that pleases them so long as their actions do not interfere with the rights of others.  Since a healthy life

contributes to happiness some may conclude that health care is a basic right.  However, the Constitution does not promise a happy life rather it clearly states we have the right to pursue happiness.  We must, therefore, make plans and take the actions to attain this goal.

The role of the government is to ensure no outside or internal influences take away our freedom to live.  No matter how well intended, they cannot tell us what to eat or how much to exercise in order to conform to the government’s healthy norms.  These well-meaning do-gooders would like to manage our lives and make us just like them.  Haven’t they heard of genetics?  It’s okay to educate us, but don’t try to mandate us.  Legislating against or taxing lifestyles violates an individual’s right to choose, even if prevention might help improve the nation’s collective health.  If this approach worked, no one would use drugs, or drink alcohol to excess, and we’d be a smoke-free nation.

What we need is a bi-partisan approach to the health care issue.  It’s an enormous undertaking and fixing it will require more than one pass through this complex system that represents 15% of our annual GNP.  Since 85% of the population has some kind of coverage, maybe we ought to look at those that don’t have insurance and address this problem first.  Reforming coverage and costs for those with insurance can be studied and plans made to start implementation when feasible.  Yes, this will take a few years, but the problem has taken decades to reach is current unacceptable state.

The people of this country must realize health care is not an entitlement.  Rather it is something that improves the quality of life, and with that comes a price tag.  Each citizen has the responsibility of participating in their own good health and in working to get the proper health care for their family and them.  It is not the government’s job to interfere.  Instead, everyone should be free to make their own decisions about life and choose the health plan that’s best for them, under their particular circumstances, and be ready to pay for this right, if not with money then with service.  With everyone having a vested interest in the cost of coverage, chances are we’ll respect the way we use it.

One thing the politicians must remember, Americans are willing to pay for what they want. And, we’re not happy about losing what we have. Therefore, the goal should be to make health care available to everyone, through a yet to be determined program, but not to reduce the coverage of those who already have insurance and are paying for it.