Published: June 18, 2009 10:07 pm      

Our strength is in a message of hope

EDMOND — We all try to find reasons for hope in our lives individually, as a community and as a nation. The past year has been a trying time with a succession of rapid changes shaking our economic foundation to the core.

However, positively, it seems to have caused many of us to rethink the values and goals we have set for the future. Less is becoming more. Community is becoming more important. People are spending more time with family and friends. Big doesn’t seem to matter as much anymore as quality. There is hope in crisis — hope in ourselves.

Hope is defined as “desiring something with the confidence of fulfillment.” We are turning inward hoping for fulfillment in life among others and not so much for more and bigger stuff. Hope is the strength anchoring our courage in meeting challenges head on. We have been bombarded with the shocks of a near financial collapse, continuing wars, failures of icons in industry, budget shortfalls at all levels and a credit crunch — serious stuff. In addition, many Americans’ lives have been turned upside down by job loss and uncertainties of employment, health problems and family challenges. No wonder we can get down, but only if we fail to see the long view and forget that strength does lie within from our faith and community.

The new president has tried to instill an optimism and hope in all of us we desperately need right now, whether or not you agree with him politically. Sorting through this mess, it is important to focus beyond ourselves and this time. We will overcome these problems. As a nation we have faced many challenges. It will take sacrifice and hard work, and results may be long in coming. The ability to change is in the strength that lies in the heart of the common American. The best values that our nation is built upon, and the countless challenges we have overcome can get lost in the current storm of crisis.

While nothing to discount for their hardships, we have borne these crises before and emerged stronger. We might be temporarily blinded from the sun because we are in the middle of the storm, but in spite of these challenges and from their lessons, we can build a better future.

We are a great people. Regardless of the criticisms we receive and questionable decisions made at times we still stand as the most respected nation on the globe. Our country is the last best hope for freedom throughout the world. Though sometimes resentful of our successes, most strive to copy us and admire what we represent. We are called to lead. We are called to follow. God asks simple but profound commitment from us to, “Do justly, show mercy and walk humbly with our God.” (Micah 6.8)

This is a profound source of our being. As the beacon for human rights and tolerance among peoples, we have a responsibility to set a high example. We have to respect other points of view and recognize some will challenge us consistently. That script has not changed throughout our history. For a while we focused inward; the world relies on us to step confidently outward. Our calling is to bring hope to others. We know the cost of our sacrifices well. We owe it to those who came before to make a difference.

This downturn brought an unexpected but needed rethinking of our core values. We now are again searching for ways to come together and touch our roots. This is a good thing despite the bad. Our children need us at home, to guide them. They need us to support them instead of being absent and worried about bigger homes, cars and better jobs. Our children need us.

Aging parents need us more and more. We need each other. What is important is finding our hope in each other and caring for those we love and those we can help. Scripture tells us that for those to whom much is given, much is expected. Much has been given to us. Our freedoms count first. We do not always see our blessings but they are many. Our responsibilities are great. In challenges is the stuff that character and courage are made of. Our glass is half full and not half empty. Our legacy is in setting a new, more hopeful course for America and the world.

The government can bail out GM. It can put billions into recovery. It cannot put hope into our hearts unless we embrace our core values of faith and community and accept the challenges of our future together. It is time to put anger and hatred aside. We will have differences. But on this small, small planet all we really have in the end is each other. Let’s make our works a message of hope.

PHIL G. BUSEY SR., an Edmond resident, is chairman and CEO of The Busey Group of Companies.