What I Deserve

A reflection

I did not fight the revolutions that created a free country.

I did not endure the wars that kept this country free.

I did not build the legal system that protects basic rights and settles disputes peacefully.

I did not build the industries that gave this country its prosperity.

I did not write the Constitution that protects my rights.

I did not lay the asphalt for the roads I travel.

I did not purify the water that flows from my tap.

I did not build the supply chains that put food in stores year-round.

I did not discover the electricity that lights my home.

I did not design the engines, materials, and safety systems that make travel by ground and air routine.

I did not find the cure for the diseases that killed my ancestors.

I did not invent the computer, the microchip, or the decades of engineering behind modern electronics.

I did not code the software that connects me to the world.

We spend so much time asking what we deserve, but we have so much we did not earn and do not deserve.

The real question is: What can we contribute to honor all we were given?