“Freedom To Choose”
25
Unfortunately, a very small number of our young people seem to attract
most of the news. They are in the public eye because they have stolen cars,
vandalized schools, created disturbances -- in some way rebelled against
society. These headline- makers represent only a small part of our teenage
population. It is a fact that 98.7 percent of our young people are law- abiding,
constructive citizens. There is too much focus on the negative. It is time we
accent the positive -- pat the good guys and gals on the back -- let them know
there are rewards for being responsible members of the community.
I do NOT believe we are all born equal -- CREATED equal in the eyes of God,
YES -- but physical and emotional differences, parental guidance, varying
environments, being in the right place at the right time, all play a role in
enhancing or limiting an individual’s development. But I DO believe every
man and woman, if given the opportunity and encouragement to recognize
his or her own potential, regardless of background, has the Freedom To
Choose in our world. Will an individual be a taker or a giver in life? Will that
person be satisfied merely to exist, or seek a meaningful purpose? Will he or
she dare to dream the impossible dream?
I believe every person is created as the steward of his or her own destiny with
great power for a specific purpose: to share with others, through service, a
reverence for life in a spirit of love.
2011 HOBY Utah Ambassadors and
volunteers with Hugh O’Brian