My wife’s
shoulder surgery last week has added to my workload. It’s amazing
how much we are normally able to do on our own, from dressing, to showering, to
even closing car doors.
Our recent
election was an example to me of how a large amount of work is made easier when
many hands are doing it. Our recent devastation from super storm
Sandy has also shown that the recovery is not possible without everyone pitching
in to help.
Whether it’s
helping my wife, the election process, or the recovery effort, many hands make
the work easier.
This election
was a record maker in terms of money spent. Perhaps the biggest
example of this was right here in the Connecticut US Senate race.
One candidate spent $40 million of her own money, in addition to all the
PAC and party money. In the last 2 US Senate races she has spent
$77 million of her own!
She was
defeated both times.
She was
defeated because although she could outspend, she could not outwork.
The number of people making phone calls and going door to door for her
opponent overwhelmed her money. In the end, people beat
money.
Prior to the
storm FEMA prepared to respond. New Jersey Governor Chrisie
praised the response of the federal government. We cannot rebuild
storm hit communities alone but together we can and will. FEMA,
the Red Cross, all the church groups, labor organizations, and other groups that
have responded are making a difference, again showing that together we are
stronger than alone.
We all need
help every day, no man is an island.
On Veterans
Day we honor those who have served and now serve in the military, the men and
women who put themselves in harms way because helping our fellow man is the
right thing to do. The men and women who, like my father and uncles, dropped
everything and came to the aid of their fellow citizens at Pearl Harbor, after
9/11, and throughout history. These brave people understood better
than most, that sometimes we all need help, sometimes we cannot do it alone, and
always there is strength in numbers.
Our
forefathers founded our nation on the premise that we are a government of the
people, for the people, and by the people. United we are
strong.
Let us honor
our veterans by continuing the traditions that they embody, service to others
and strength in unity.
