Many countries are founded on tradition or shared ethnic heirtage, but
America is a
country bound together by its ideals.
Dick DeVos expounds the values that make our society
work; values that he and his family have demonstrated in their business
and volunteer work. Values such as Honesty, Integrity, Reliability,
Compassion and Self-Discipline.
Dick traveled these great United States in search of individual
success stories that show that the American spirit of volunteerism is
not dead and came up with a sort of "Chicken Soup for the Patriot's
soul". In "Rediscovering the American Spirit" you will learn about
several Americans with an extrordinary committment to the values that
our founding fathers propounded over two centuries ago. In
"Rediscovering", you will hear about:
•John Beale who singlehandedly restored the Duwamish river (and still patrols it to keep out polluters! see link below),
•A doctor who wanted to "give something back" and decided to spend an
entire afternoon passing out a total of 500 bycicles to children in a
poor
community.
•A mother who, on a hunch that the water in her community was not
suitable for drinking, tested the water, alerted politicians to results
and got action!
Sadly, in recent decades, it has become fashionable to belittle
American values as old-fashioned or even unenlightened. Our
country stands at a crossroads; we can rediscover these values or allow them to
slip into the mists of our past. Depending on what we as a nation
choose, the kind of country we will pass on to our children hangs in
the balance.
The author is currently running for Governor of Michigan in 2006. He is considered a turnaround leader for his work with Alticor during their slump in the 1990's. Michigan could use that kind of leadership now.