“All great change in America begins at the dinner table.”
(Ronald Reagan)

Jenny here (Hal’s wife). I don’t know about you, but there are times when I’ve felt a bit helpless to make any sort of real difference in the way the world works. The vastness of the issues we face…such as poverty, health care costs, terrorism, economic uncertainty, gun violence, etc., makes me want to bury my head in the sand. Then I remember this quote from The Great Communicator.

If I really want to change my society for the better—and I do—I don’t have to look any further than my own dining room. The home is the hub of our culture. And while policy may be made around boardrooms and senate floors, people are made around board games and kitchen tables. It’s these little children (or in our case, one remaining large young man) we get to be with every day who will run this world in the near future. They’ll soon be the ones dealing with all these problems we’ve helped create, and it’s not only my job as a mother, but also as a good citizen, to make sure they are well equipped for the job.

So, tonight before dinner, take just a moment to reflect on the importance of your undertaking as a parent. And as you pass the potatoes, don’t forget to encourage the values that you wish to see in the world: compassion, responsibility, and self-control.

Peace beings with pause,
Jenny