, fear, and limitation.

And so what about now? What about all of the incomprehensible horrors that are happening in the 21st century? What about the leaders of this era? Why don't they have a better handle on things? Why are civilians and soldiers still getting their brains blown out and many of the people on the planet continuing to endure the intolerable? Why are there still men and women walking around today who are utterly inhumane and evil, and why don't our leader

" …Everything can be taken from a man[woman] but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."-Victor Frankl, concentration camp survivor (Man's search for Meaning).

Frankl endured years of unconscionable horror in Nazi concentration camps, and lived to share his findings from a most remarkable experiment: That one could maintain sanity, human dignity, and ultimately life itself, no matter what the external circumstances, by exercising freedom of mind and thought.

My father, who served for nearly five years during the war in which Victor Frankl and countless others were tortured and killed, reminded me recently that if it wouldn't have been for a few interesting twists of fate and some remarkably brave souls carrying the torch for hope and redemption, the entire world could have fallen prey to the Nazi regime.

Dad, who attended meetings of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also prepared the map room for President Roosevelt during World War II. In this role, he was privy to top secret information. He indicated that at one point it seemed as if penetrating the forces of evil, which were running rampant as a result of Hitler's malicious rule, would be next to impossible.

Despite the odds, my father had faith, and fortunately, so did other shape-shifters who facilitated unprecedented change. The transformation from horror to hope, optimism and freedom, was undoubtedly sparked by their unwavering beliefs in the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for every human being. Their steadfast trust in the power of good over evil, together with their commitment, dedication, loyalty, hope, courage, and LOVE for their fellow man/woman combined to create a miraculous, unexpected outcome. And we can be sure, that those who led us out of the daunting darkness did not fall prey to doubt, fear, and limitation.

And so what about now? What about all of the incomprehensible horrors that are happening in the 21st century? What about the leaders of this era? Why don't they have a better handle on things? Why are civilians and soldiers still getting their brains blown out and many of the people on the planet continuing to endure the intolerable? Why are there still men and women walking around today who are utterly inhumane and evil, and why don't our leaders

what the external circumstances, by exercising freedom of mind and thought.

My father, who served for nearly five years during the war in which Victor Frankl and countless others were tortured and killed, reminded me recently that if it wouldn't have been for a few interesting twists of fate and some remarkably brave souls carrying the torch for hope and redemption, the entire world could have fallen prey to the Nazi regime.

Dad, who attended meetings of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also prepared the map room for President Roosevelt during World War II. In this role, he was privy to top secret information. He indicated that at one point it seemed as if penetrating the forces of evil, which were running rampant as a result of Hitler's malicious rule, would be next to impossible.

Despite the odds, my father had faith, and fortunately, so did other shape-shifters who facilitated unprecedented change. The transformation from horror to hope, optimism and freedom, was undoubtedly sparked by their unwavering beliefs in the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for every human being. Their steadfast trust in the power of good over evil, together with their commitment, dedication, loyalty, hope, courage, and LOVE for their fellow man/woman combined to create a miraculous, unexpected outcome. And we can be sure, that those who led us out of the daunting darkness did not fall prey to doubt, fear, and limitation.

And so what about now? What about all of the incomprehensible horrors that are happening in the 21st century? What about the leaders of this era? Why don't they have a better handle on things? Why are civilians and soldiers still getting their brains blown out and many of the people on the planet continuing to endure the intolerable? Why are there still men and women walking around today who are utterly inhumane and evil, and why don't our leader

Chiefs of Staff, also prepared the map room for President Roosevelt during World War II. In this role, he was privy to top secret information. He indicated that at one point it seemed as if penetrating the forces of evil, which were running rampant as a result of Hitler's malicious rule, would be next to impossible.

Despite the odds, my father had faith, and fortunately, so did other shape-shifters who facilitated unprecedented change. The transformation from horror to hope, optimism and freedom, was undoubtedly sparked by their unwavering beliefs in the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for every human being. Their steadfast trust in the power of good over evil, together with their commitment, dedication, loyalty, hope, courage, and LOVE for their fellow man/woman combined to create a miraculous, unexpected outcome. And we can be sure, that those who led us out of the daunting darkness did not fall prey to doubt, fear, and limitation.

And so what about now? What about all of the incomprehensible horrors that are happening in the 21st century? What about the leaders of this era? Why don't they have a better handle on things? Why are civilians and soldiers still getting their brains blown out and many of the people on the planet continuing to endure the intolerable? Why are there still men and women walking around today who are utterly inhumane and evil, and why don't our leader

pe, optimism and freedom, was undoubtedly sparked by their unwavering beliefs in the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for every human being. Their steadfast trust in the power of good over evil, together with their commitment, dedication, loyalty, hope, courage, and LOVE for their fellow man/woman combined to create a miraculous, unexpected outcome. And we can be sure, that those who led us out of the daunting darkness did not fall prey to doubt, fear, and limitation.

And so what about now? What about all of the incomprehensible horrors that are happening in the 21st century? What about the leaders of this era? Why don't they have a better handle on things? Why are civilians and soldiers still getting their brains blown out and many of the people on the planet continuing to endure the intolerable? Why are there still men and women walking around today who are utterly inhumane and evil, and why don't our leader

, fear, and limitation.

And so what about now? What about all of the incomprehensible horrors that are happening in the 21st century? What about the leaders of this era? Why don't they have a better handle on things? Why are civilians and soldiers still getting their brains blown out and many of the people on the planet continuing to endure the intolerable? Why are there still men and women walking around today who are utterly inhumane and evil, and why don't our leaders, and our governments do a better job at ameliorating or eliminating these unacceptable conditions?

Perhaps we would do well to turn the question inward. What are we ourselves doing to bring about positive change? How are we focusing our own thoughts, actions and deeds? And how can we arrange these to such a degree that they bring about the most expanded good both for ourselves and all of those we touch?

Fundamentally, we are no different than Victor Frankl, Franklin D. Roosevelt, or my father, A. Lewis Hull. We have the same capacity to choose our thoughts so that they ultimately move us to produce the most positive outcomes for our lives and those of others with whom we come in contact.

Many years ago, the Pilgrims and the Indians shared cultures and communion. They celebrated friendship and embraced diversity. More than likely, they weren't focusing on the faults or differences of the folks across the table as they sipped and supped together. Don't you suppose they were probably just plain grateful to join each other and benefit from how they were learning and growing together?

A happy and joyous holiday season to all as we contemplate how we can peacefully work together to be more appreciative, patient, accepting, hopeful, loving, compassionate, determined, courageous, and caring.