Sunday, December 30, 2007
I always make New Year's resolutions. In fact, I am so driven to upgrade my American Dream to the best of my ability in every way possible from day to day, that I make New Week's resolutions every Sunday. I consider it a prayer for upgrade on the Sabbath, showing God I appreciate His gifts each day.
And I am here to tell you that it works. Growing up in a bowhunting family taught me early on that true happiness (and fresh venison) can best be accomplished with a gung-ho sense of aliveness, a higher level of awareness of everything around me, so as to better understand my cause and effect on my life and the lives of everyone and everything around me. The physics of spirituality.
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As I continue to gather around very special hunting campfires with great people, facing yet another 12-month span of fun, hard work, adventure, adversity and the roller coaster ride of life's dynamo ups and downs in this Year of Our Lord 2008, I share with family, co-workers, friends and American BloodBrothers of every description and walk of life our ongoing list of how we must all do good anyway, and how we should always try to do and be better each day. Communication is key. Families should talk more.
* We all agree that personal health management is Job One in appreciation for God's miraculous gift of life. The very least we can do is take good care of ourselves. Eating healthy food in healthy quantities is so simple, it's stupid. Considering that everybody knows how deadly processed foods can be and that being overweight is a surefire recipe for serious health complications, this diet-conscious upgrade should be at the top of everybody's New Year's upgrade list. Do it.
* Another gimme is to rid our sacred temples of all known poisons. The elimination of all tobacco products would be a good place to start. I was smart enough to never start, but it is never too late to quit. Unless of course cancer is on your "To do" list. Clearly, this mindless indulgence is a horrible curse on mankind, a sickening waste in America, and we pray people will wake up for this simple upgrade in '08. There is no quality of life with tobacco. Period.
* Drinking and driving has never been a problem for me, as I think it was a New Year's resolution of mine back in 1965. Nonetheless, if we truly care enough to help save innocent lives in our communities, we must all do all we can to end this curse in America. We must all raise a constant hue and cry across the land, condemning this criminal waste of human life, sending out a strong, absolute message of virtual condemnation to those who drink and drive. Enough already.
* There are so many friendly, smiling faces everywhere I look across Texas, that it continues to amaze me when I experience rudeness and mean-spiritedness in my fellow Texans. Let us start by explaining politely to the ignorant amongst us that the left lane on American highways is for passing, not hanging out. A turn signal would be nice when turning, and an actual stop at a stop sign or red light would be quite the upgrade as well. And those white lines in parking lots are for parking between, not straddling.
* And speaking of waste, last time I checked, bottled water is more expensive than gasoline, yet everywhere I go I see these expensive bottles tossed out with plenty of costly water still in them. This is just plain weird and an indictment to how we fail to teach our kids a sense of value and conservation. Let us quit buying things and throwing them away.
* Nationalism. I vow to do all I can to encourage a love and respect for the greatest country in the world, the only experiment in self-government where "we the people" are in charge, not kings, tyrants, dictators, emperors or slave bosses. I will communicate everywhere I go how we should wake up every day and thank God we are Americans. Though we are not perfect, we are so far ahead of the rest of the world in individual freedoms and God-given rights that all Americans should stand proud and appreciative for this amazing American Dream.
Happy New Year, Texas. May your American-Texas Dream thrive and glow in 2008 like never before.
Ted Nugent is a Waco-based musician and television show host. Communicate with Ted directly at tednugent.com.
