Living In Interesting Times

One of the blessings of living in Oklahoma is the relatively tranquil life we share.  Yes, we have had our crises, but compared to what seems to be going on around the world, I think we are living in a good place.  We feel secure.  We trust our neighbors.   We do face bad weather of all sorts, but we do not live in anxiety about mad bombers generally.  Grant you, we were among the first to live through the tough event of a bombing terrorist.  It has occurred to me over time that much of what brought us through that time were the values that we shared in common as Oklahomans.

Those Oklahoma values are the point of this column.  I am convinced that we must not take our heritage and values for granted.  They bind us together in a community that makes this state a treasure among the fifty states of our union.  My spouse and I have lived in a variety of locales over the years, and I can say with no exaggeration that there is no place that I know of where I would rather live. 

I reject the image of a day when these qualities that make us Oklahoman' s would cease to be predominate as the norm of our communities. 

Having said that, our values need to be nurtured and defended.  They need to be nurtured within our families; instilled and passed on from generation to generation.  That requires intentionality on the part of citizens and families.  They need to be defended. 

Much in our culture is contrary to, and even hostile towards, the traditional values that make this a great state.  The message if often that we need to fall in line and get on board with values that have worked very poorly in other locations, but are the popular trend of the day.   

Oklahoman's would do well to be clear with our leaders on every level when these trends threaten to dissolve the time-tested positive values of our state.  We live in Oklahoma because it is a place where our families and communities may flourish within the matrix of qualities that made this the premier country in the world.  We want nothing less for ourselves and our future generations.