Author Mike OConnor: Living in memories.

Author Mike OConnor: Living in memories.: I see the world from memory the way I want it to be. In real time it is heart breaking, and tears flow to freely. We are a nation filled w...

Living in memories.

I see the world from memory the way I want it to be. In real time it is heart breaking, and tears flow to freely. We are a nation filled with good people who care about others before themselves, who do not want to be recognized for doing the right thing. They are the ones who come running when you are in need. The ones who risk their lives to try and save the lives of strangers. The silent heroes of today all but forgotten tomorrow.

Some say the media dictates the mood of the country well, then nothing should hit the airwaves but happy news, right? Babies saying their first words, children playing in the rain. Horses running free and dogs laying in your lap. People doing random acts of kindness and taking a minute out of the day to smile at someone you do not know.

Unfortunately, the world is not always happy. People are not always nice and those who do unspeakable acts upon their own draw universal attention from both sides. Why must there be two sides? Isn’t right, right and wrong, wrong? That is how I have always understood it to be. Just ask any veteran who served beside soldiers of all race and creeds. Brothers in arms who would die for you and never leave you behind.

We trained together, lived together and fought together only to return home and become divided by some invisible force we stopped seeing in the battlefields. I can say the same thing for doctors, nurses and all first responders. I can say the same for that kid who helps an elderly neighbor keep their lawn trimmed or the delivery person who asks if you need anything?

Our streets should be paved with the hopes and dreams of all people not stained with the blood of those perceived to be someone they are not. The invisible hatred that has no place in a world where kindness is so evident everywhere you look. It is true I choose to see the world through my memories. A safe place where lessons taught and held onto bring an occasional smile and hope for a better tomorrow.