Reflections on the Way to Work

During the holidays the confluence of a holiday letter and a challenge by a member on my team created the inspiration for this reflection.

The holiday letter was from dear friends of mine who lived in Homer, Alaska. After living for more than 55 years in a beautiful home on the Kenai Peninsula they sold their house and “downsized”; not such an odd concept these days. However, it was the next line in their letter that resonated and caused me to pause, and that was that they had been living in Alaska since before Alaska’s statehood in 1959. For as long as I have been in this world, and as long as I have been studying geography, history, and social studies, there have always been 50 states. So the concept that a friend of mine actually lived in Alaska prior to statehood made me reflect on our country, statehood, and how the country evolved and developed into the 50 states, commonwealths and territories, that we call, the United States of America.

The second event was a member of my team asking me if I was given a blank map of the United States would I be able to populate all of the states without any assistance. After pausing for a moment, knowing in my heart that there was no way I would be able to do that but worried about embarrassing myself, I took the high road and admitted that I would not be able to complete such an exercise. As we went one by one through the different team members, I was not alone in not being able to complete such an exercise.

Both of these events made me reflect on how much of this beautiful country we take for granted, how little we know about individual states outside of our own, and what little pride we have these days in the United States of America. As Americans, we need to reclaim our sense of patriotism and pride in America and in being American. One of the first steps is learning or relearning the facts about the states that make up our incredible country.

Politics aside, if we go back to the 1980s when Ronald Reagan was President of the United States, one thing he did as a leader of this great nation was to restore pride in being an American and in America. More importantly, he created a spirit of pride in America’s democratic and capitalistic principles that allow us the freedom every day to express one’s individuality, and creativity; he promoted an economy that allowed ingenuity to develop into something greater than an idea, the prime example, the “technology revolution” that began to flourish in the 80’s.

One can argue what the causes of today’s lack of patriotism are, however, we can start with the political discourse in Washington, D.C and the failure of the political representatives, the leaders of our states, the very individuals elected by the “people” to inspire our sense of patriotism.

Perhaps it is the extended economic downturn and lack of hope in the future; the stifling of one’s ability to act on an ingenious idea because regulation has constrained the ability to get the necessary funding to turn that idea into the next invention. Once a cornerstone that built our country into what we are today. Maybe it is an education system that values a “grade” more than the true knowledge or understanding of the underlying subject matter. Perhaps it is the shift in the fabric of society where morals, values, integrity and heroes are defined by money, power, spitefulness and fame. Where consumerism and commercialism have overtaken charity and love. Maybe it is the loss of individual hope because there has been a breakdown in respect for the individual, who they are and the value of their contribution to society, irrespective of their position in life. Maybe it is the globalization of the world, the allure in the exotic, the unknown, the opportunity offshore. Or perhaps it is a combination of all these factors, and others, too many to really synthesize.

One thing is for certain, every time there is an attack, be it physical or psychological, there is a momentary sense of patriotism, an American espirit de corps, a resilience that percolates, a protectionism, a pride in a state and in the United States, but then the sustained sense of patriotism wanes.

Its time for each one of us to begin the wave of inspiring patriotism in America, in all of its beauty, including its natural resources; national parks; farmland; national and historic landmarks. We can begin to sow the seeds of patriotism by reacquainting ourselves with America, taking pride in America, by knowing facts about our country and each the states that comprise the United States, including what sustains them economically, and other interesting tidbits like knowing state flowers, state birds, and trees and other noteworthy facts. If we do not start building a strong sense of patriotism, America will continue to lose ground as a leader in the world, a country that is looked up to. We have an obligation to carry the torch that our ancestors used to light the way for what we have today, to honor the sacrifices they made to build and establish our country, and to carry on with the true American spirit.

To get you started here are some facts about different states – see if you can identify the respective state!

State Birds State Flowers State Trees

Willow Ptarmigan Forget Me Not Sitka Spruce
Blue Hen Chicken Peach Blossom American Holly
Eastern Goldfinch Wild Prairie Northern Red Oak
Western Meadowlark Bitterroot American Elm
Chickadee White Pine Cone and Tassel Eastern White Pine

If you want to test your US geography and ability to populate a blank Map of the United States you can go to a third party website: 50States.com that has a blank US Map that you can print.