A few years ago I wrote a column giving advice to my son using prescient quotes from famous people coupled with a few musings of my own. Since then, another boy has been welcomed into the family, and it’s become obvious that he will play second fiddle to no one. This letter, like the first, is directed towards both boys with baby brother getting top billing this time. Some may find this letter a bit tough, but the world is a tough place. You boys will never be forced to live in my echo chamber, so take from it what you will.  

Immerse yourself in education and remember that genuine teachers are not those who indoctrinate but those who inspire. Higher learning does not guarantee higher intelligence. The follies of the foolish are the opportunities of the wise. Your ignorance will be your rival’s strength. Seek answers long after your last class. 

The founding of America was a noble endeavor but it came at a costly price. “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” Of the 56 signers of our Declaration of Independence in 1776: 17 lost their fortunes, 12 had their homes destroyed, 5 became prisoners of war, and 9 died during the revolution. Benjamin Franklin advised at the time, “We must hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

Four boxes guarantee our freedom: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.   

“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”—Albert Einstein

But on September 11, 2001, passengers aboard United Flight 93 were not the people Einstein was referring to. These everyday Americans forced down their hijacked plane and turned terror back onto their attackers. These brave souls literally affirmed what Dorothy Bernard once said, “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.” 

America has a storied history of confronting tyrants and despots, often when our allies either couldn’t or wouldn’t. Our dominance in world affairs has not come without critics. But as the famous Roman Quintus Fabius Maximus advised: “It is better that a wise enemy should fear you than that foolish friends should praise.” “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last.”—Winston Churchill

“Here in America we are descended in blood and spirit from revolutionists and rebels—men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.”—Dwight D. Eisenhower

At times, the world will resemble the Mad Hatters Tea Party. Navigate your life with a moral compass and your integrity should never be questioned. “Character is doing what’s right when nobody’s looking.”—J.C. Watts 

As someone who engaged with people having trouble staying within the rules, I regularly came across four types of malefactors—the thirsty, the shady, the crazy and the lazy. People who misbehave should not be coddled by society unless it desires more of this behavior. “Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.”—Plato

America affords everyone equal opportunity to succeed and incentive is the driving force behind this success. Adam Smith wrote in 1776, “It is not from benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” Remember, no one washes a rental car.

We Americans may have come here on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now. Our republic flourishes only when ordinary citizens become involved and take control of public affairs. Show me a man who has never been criticized, and I’ll show you a man who has never succeeded. Spend little time concerned about the opinion of those who spend their lives on the sidelines. Choose your own path but live amid the conversation. 

Your darkest days will be followed by the dawn. Hope springs eternal. Confucius said, “The greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising up every time we fall.” And if you ever have trouble getting up after a fall, I’ll come get you!