Too busy to affect change?
Mark Pavilons

"If future generations are to remember us more with gratitude than sorrow, we must achieve more than just the miracles of technology. We must also leave them a glimpse of the world as it was created, not just as it looked when we got through with it."

Lyndon B. Johnson

This time of year most of us are more apt to get away from it all than staying close to home, trying to solve all the world's ills.

The first day of school will arrive soon enough, and then everything will return to relative normal. But, as the former president quoted above feared, we'll be back at again, squeezing everything we can get out of society and this planet we're on.

Many will be hard at "work," trying to make a fast buck or increasing their portfolios. Others, will be trying to secure a few extra jobs to help supplement their incomes.

Stretching our take-home pay and looking for bargains, while buying gas in the middle of the night has become part of the "new normal." A far cry from what many of us likely imagined this brave new world would offer us.

Are we too busy, too concerned about our own lives that we don't have the time or the resources to help make the world a better place? We all know that it only takes one person, one act, one word, one sentiment to set the stage for change. We're all capable of it.

And yet how much of our daily routine is set aside for changing the planet? Is saving humanity form itself on our to-do list, ever?

Each generation has its unique circumstances. Most of us are here today because of the sacrifices, hard work and love of our ancestors who fought in the war, and helped build this country in the postwar years.

We will likely never see such dramatic change ever again. And it's also doubtful that our children will be engaged in a global conflict. Saving the world from an alien attack, maybe. But fighting the Russians over ownership of the Arctic, I doubt it.

That being said, our generation, while quite comfortable, is basically living in mediocrity.

Most of us have homes, two cars, the swing set and a handful of children, all wearing Hilfiger or Gap. We buy them new backpacks each September so they're well prepared to learn. We limit their TV or DVD watching to a few hours a week. We also tell them, as we order in Chinese or pizza, that money doesn't grow on trees. We tell them to be careful crossing the street, due to the high volume of luxury sedans and imported SUVs on our streets. We try to move up, but are faced with the prospects of "settling for" a $450,000 subdivision home.

No, this is not a generation of the economically challenged. Intellectually challenged, perhaps.

We are the over-indulgent, maxed-out-on-credit, fastfood craving, iPod-owning yuppies that deserve to be made fun of. Few of us contribute anything really meaningful to society like medical breakthroughs, spiritual enlightenment, political change or global aid. While we're spending $100 on a cut and style, the ranks of the less fortunate, both here at home and abroad, continue to grow.

We waste more money on cigarettes, lottery tickets, beer and car repairs than we ever donate to charity.

In the 1960s, many people, fed up with the way things were going, merely dropped out of mainstream society, seeking peace, love and all that jazz.

The reality of today is there's no dropping out when you have a mortgage, car payments and three kids to raise.

In what seemed like only a handful of sleepless nights, our newest daughter just marked her first birthday. And the other two, well, they're growing like mold on organic bread.

When I look at Kyleigh, I am amazed at the simplicity that is our species. She's mesmerized by things like buttons, drawers, music and smiles. She desperately wants to run, jump and play, and gets frustrated that her year-old legs aren't listening to her commands.

It's been said one of our most cherished qualities as humans is keeping in touch with our own inner child. It doesn't help to be reminded once in a while.

Liam wants to fly like Superman and battle evil monsters like the Power Rangers. But he's eternally curious, wanting to know everything about this planet and why we're here. I'll let him know when I figure it out.

Lexie is the proverbial tween not a kid, not a teen torn between all kinds of emotions, desires, wants and needs. Some days she's ready to take on the world; others she just wants to play with dolls. I think I prefer the latter.

While we do all we can to prepare them for what awaits, I can't help but feel helpless and somewhat hog-tied by modern day economics.

I realize you can't throw money at all your problems to make them better. And wealth and success won't help a child who needs a cuddle in the middle of the night, or a gentle push to get on their first bus. And, money can't buy a home-made cucumber sandwich.

Am I helpless in the battle against ignorance when I'm powerless to change the price of gas at the pumps, or the cost of organic eggplant at the grocery store?

Is there time, after the dishes are put away and just before story time, to teach the kids about helping others, avoiding conflict and discussing the afterlife?

When I switch off my home computer at 12:15 a.m., have I accomplished anything of note that day?

I hope we all spare a few minutes each day to try to make a difference.

You never know how a seemingly insignificant action today can alter the course of the universe tomorrow!