Slow
Dance
This
is a poem
written by a teenager with cancer.
She wants to
see how many
people get her poem.
It is quite the poem
Please pass it
on.
This
poem was written by a terminally ill young girl in a
New York
Hospital .
It was sent
by
a medical doctor -
Make sure to read what is in the closing statement
AFTER THE
POEM.
SLOW DANCE
Have you ever
watched
kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to
the
rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a
butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the
fading
night?
You better slow down.
Don't
dance so
fast.
Time is short.
The music
won't
last.
Do you run through each
day
On
the
fly?
When you ask How are you?
Do you hear
the
reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie
in your
bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through
your head?
You'd better
slow down
Don't dance so
fast.
Time is
short.
The music won't
last.
Ever told your
child,
We'll do it
tomorrow?
And in your
haste,
Not see
his
sorrow?
Ever lost
touch,
Let a good
friendship die
Cause you
never had time
To call
and say,'Hi'
You'd
better slow
down.
Don't dance
so fast.
Time
is short.
The music won't
last.
When you run
so fast to get somewhere
You
miss half the fun of getting
there.
When you worry and hurry
through your
day,
It is like an unopened
gift....
Thrown
away.
Life is not a
race.
Do take it
slower
Hear the
music
Before the song is
over.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Publication:The Columbus Dispatch; Date:Jun 9, 2009; Section:Forum; Page Number:A13
Freedom falls victim to government
Cal Thomas writes for Tribune Media Services. tmseditors@tribune.com
A statue of Ronald Reagan was unveiled last week in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda at a time when many Republicans, and even some conservatives, think Reagan’s ideas are passe. Before moving on, Republicans, and those conservatives who don’t want to “live in the past,” should be asked what better ideas they have to offer.
As the Obama administration and congressional Democrats move quickly with their new power to grab even more power and to build larger, more intrusive and costlier government, they — and we — should consider Reagan’s thoughts on the power of the individual, rather than government power, and peace through strength to keep us free. And, “Man is not free unless government is limited.” And, “concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.”
As government acquires the auto industry and seeks to own health care; as it plans to take more money from the productive in order to subsidize the unproductive or less productive; as government evolves from nanny to a cruel and abusive guardian that will rob the individual of incentive and punish those who manage to succeed with crippling regulations and higher taxes, where are the champions of liberty and personal responsibility?
Instead of stories many of us heard as children about people who grew up in difficult circumstances — alcoholic mother, abusive father, racial discrimination, physical handicaps — and rose to self-sufficiency, even prosperity, we get messages that say you can’t do it on your own and you will never amount to anything unless you place your faith in government.
“You can do it,” parents tell their children as they urge them to higher levels of achievement. This sentiment used to be found in popular culture, including feelgood films that inspired people to achieve their ideals. Now we punish the successful and make the pursuit of success more difficult because of strangulating government.
Why must government “fix” health care? Since government does few things well, why aren’t better minds than politicians leading the way? We know what works. It isn’t collectivism and government bureaucrats telling us what type of health care they will allow us to have, it is individuals employing innovation that will bring transformation.
Some years ago, CBS News correspondent Lesley Stahl reported on a jobs program run out of a Harlem housing project in New York City. These were the hardcore unemployed who either had never had a job, or couldn’t hold onto one. All were minorities. The leader asked, “How many think racism is a problem in America?” Every hand went up. He then said, “So what? Your problem isn’t racism; your problem is attitude and that’s what we’re going to change.”
He taught them how to dress, how to shake hands and look prospective employers in the eye. Cameras followed one woman to an interview. She got the job and began to cry. She had discovered her value and the power of the individual. Government didn’t give her that job; she got it on her own. In fact, government had been sending her checks, which caused her to be more dependent on government.
“There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect,” said Ronald Reagan. And, “Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not ruin their lives.”
As politicians prepare to do things for which government has little experience and even less ability, where are the leaders who will again embrace the power behind Ronald Reagan’s thoughts? It was Reagan who said, “Governments tend not to solve problems, only to rearrange them.” He warned, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same.”
Government is eroding freedom. It is time to fight, but where are the generals to lead us? Will the public wake up and realize what is being stolen from us before it is gone?
CAL THOMAS
Freedom falls victim to government
Cal Thomas writes for Tribune Media Services. tmseditors@tribune.com
A statue of Ronald Reagan was unveiled last week in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda at a time when many Republicans, and even some conservatives, think Reagan’s ideas are passe. Before moving on, Republicans, and those conservatives who don’t want to “live in the past,” should be asked what better ideas they have to offer.
As the Obama administration and congressional Democrats move quickly with their new power to grab even more power and to build larger, more intrusive and costlier government, they — and we — should consider Reagan’s thoughts on the power of the individual, rather than government power, and peace through strength to keep us free. And, “Man is not free unless government is limited.” And, “concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.”
As government acquires the auto industry and seeks to own health care; as it plans to take more money from the productive in order to subsidize the unproductive or less productive; as government evolves from nanny to a cruel and abusive guardian that will rob the individual of incentive and punish those who manage to succeed with crippling regulations and higher taxes, where are the champions of liberty and personal responsibility?
Instead of stories many of us heard as children about people who grew up in difficult circumstances — alcoholic mother, abusive father, racial discrimination, physical handicaps — and rose to self-sufficiency, even prosperity, we get messages that say you can’t do it on your own and you will never amount to anything unless you place your faith in government.
“You can do it,” parents tell their children as they urge them to higher levels of achievement. This sentiment used to be found in popular culture, including feelgood films that inspired people to achieve their ideals. Now we punish the successful and make the pursuit of success more difficult because of strangulating government.
Why must government “fix” health care? Since government does few things well, why aren’t better minds than politicians leading the way? We know what works. It isn’t collectivism and government bureaucrats telling us what type of health care they will allow us to have, it is individuals employing innovation that will bring transformation.
Some years ago, CBS News correspondent Lesley Stahl reported on a jobs program run out of a Harlem housing project in New York City. These were the hardcore unemployed who either had never had a job, or couldn’t hold onto one. All were minorities. The leader asked, “How many think racism is a problem in America?” Every hand went up. He then said, “So what? Your problem isn’t racism; your problem is attitude and that’s what we’re going to change.”
He taught them how to dress, how to shake hands and look prospective employers in the eye. Cameras followed one woman to an interview. She got the job and began to cry. She had discovered her value and the power of the individual. Government didn’t give her that job; she got it on her own. In fact, government had been sending her checks, which caused her to be more dependent on government.
“There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect,” said Ronald Reagan. And, “Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not ruin their lives.”
As politicians prepare to do things for which government has little experience and even less ability, where are the leaders who will again embrace the power behind Ronald Reagan’s thoughts? It was Reagan who said, “Governments tend not to solve problems, only to rearrange them.” He warned, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same.”
Government is eroding freedom. It is time to fight, but where are the generals to lead us? Will the public wake up and realize what is being stolen from us before it is gone?
CAL THOMAS
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