If the war in Ukraine has taught us anything it has taught us the courage and beauty of fighting rather than surrendering. Fighting is really the secret of life. Many of us are born with physical or intellectual disabilities that we can either submit to…or fight against. We can accept our place in the hierarchical structure of society…or we can fight to ascend the ladder of opportunity. I watched a wonderful documentary on the lives and careers and fame of Lucielle Ball and Desi Arnaz. Lucy freely admitted that she was not innately talented…but she worked and rehearsed to make up the difference. Desi was from a rich family in Cuba who lost everything and had to leave their homeland…he was seeking for home, according to his daughter, for the remainder of his life.

I have found that life loves the downtrodden who refuse to accept their place in life. My friend, Jeff, was an orphan living on the streets of Chicago, Illinois. He not only was kicked from pillar to post…but was institutionalized for a time. Today he is a multi-millionaire business owner in the United Kingdom. Something to prove is a good thing when it motivates you to aspire to excellence.

Illness incapacitates one person and empowers the next. For some, it is a brick wall…while for others it is an open door. Defying the odds is a beautiful thing… The only person that can keep you from success…is you…

The war in Ukraine is a defining moment in our history. Will we support a fledgling democracy…or will we do the safe thing and attest that the Ukrainians did not fulfill every dotted I and crossed t…? Will we watch the Russian Bear devour Ukraine as Zelensky illustrates what a hero looks like? Will we say that we must be prudent…we must be conservative…we must bend over backward to ensure safety…when the anthesis of safety is brilliant before our eyes. Will we assure ourselves in the all-engulfing darkness of midnight that the Ukranienans had to be sacrificed in order to guarantee our safety?

Bomb Sirens peel their disconcerting warning in New York…Ukraine is gone…and now so are we…