"The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself" - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

There are a lot of scary things going on right now. On Thursday I posted a list of the Top Ten Challenges Facing America Today. It's a daunting list, and it is easy to become overwhelmed by problems. But we cannot allow ourselves to surrender to fear. Fear can be a powerful motivator, but it distorts one's thinking, and can lead to very bad decisions.

It is crucial to keep in mind that our country has faced, and overcome, seemingly insurmountable obstacles many times before. Here are just a few:
• Overthrew the British Empire
• Ended slavery with a bloody Civil War
• Survived the Great Depression
• Defeated the Nazis and saved the world from facism in World War II
• Faced down the Soviet Union in the Cold War

On a more personal level, many of us owe our citizenship to ancestors that were brave enough to leave everything and everyone they knew, sail to a foreign land where perhaps they did not speak the language, and build a life from scratch.

That's why they call this the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave!

Triumph over adversity: how do we do it?
• Face our problems head on
• Focus on things we can control and establish common ground
• Work together in cooperation and shared sacrifice

Since I opened with a quote, let me close with one as well:

"United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs.” - Patrick Henry