I think we always remember our embarrassments. Years ago, I was a brand new BS chemical engineer on his first airplane flight to New Jersey to be interviewed by Esso (as Exxon Mobil was called in those days). At the fancy dinner that night with the families of a couple of possible future bosses, I was asked how I liked the flight. One of the most impressive things to me was flying over the Appalachian Mountains, and as much as I tried to suppress it, the statement popped out in an excited burst: “It was great! The mountains looked just like molehills!” There was silence as the other guests groaned inwardly at the immature, unsophisticated triteness coming from a potentially expensive future employee – I must have turned red when I realized what had happened. Later I got a good job with Phillips Petroleum, so it turned out OK.

But mountains and molehills are figuratively much in the news today. We, as a nation, have huge real mountains to climb, and we seem to be fooling around with the mole hills - which we make into mountains. We are more concerned with tracking down exactly who misspoke what than in solving the problems that affect us all. We have economic collapse, two wars, unaffordable health care, an energy shortage, and a pending flu epidemic - and that is just the first range of mountains to climb. So what are we doing? – Politics as usual! - And they are even asking me by email to send more money to help them play politics! – No way!

What we need to do, I think, is to take a flight over these mountains and see them in perspective - interrelated, but not unconquerable. - IF we look at the big picture and put people first (Our Nation and the World), instead of profit.