Karin DaCunha Wimmer of Jim Thorpe recently posted on Facebook a passage written by an anonymous writer. At first read, the words raised my attention to what the writer says should matter most to us. Here’s Karin’s post that inspired my Christmas wish.

“I remember being broke for Christmas one year after food shopping and paying the bills and wrote a post-dated check to make sure I could provide a good Christmas for my family. I’ve lived as high and as low as it’s possible to go. There were times I’d put $10 worth of gas in my tank and other times $50. I’ve had $5 to just feed myself and I’ve also had $200 to go out to eat. I’ve had a house full of food and times I didn’t have any. I’ve been in stores cashing out with no worries and I’ve also had to add it up and put things back on the shelf. I’ve paid my bills in full and I’ve had to pay them late too. I’ve given money and I too have had to ask for it. We all have highs and lows in life. Some certainly more than others, but we are all just trying to make it. No one is better than anyone else and my heart is sad for those people who think that they are. No matter how big your house is, how new your car is, or how much money sits in your bank account - we all bleed red and will eventually fade from this earth. Death has no discrimination and neither should your life. Be kind to others. We are all here to serve. Stop the power tripping. Your oversized ego won’t get you anywhere. Be humble. And keep faith going.”

The words, “We are all here to serve” resonated with me. I worry that a social media movement to become self-gratifying individuals is one of the biggest problems in this country. Re-inventing yourself is the theme of self-help books. Stand out from the crowd. Take from life what you deserve and do whatever it takes to get to the top of the mountain.

There’s more to this cry for self-satisfaction. Get educated and go out and make the most money you can. As the passage above had implied, work to buy that big gated house with the seven bedrooms and the biggest pool anyone has ever seen. Alarm your property with the latest technology. Block the outside world from your entire existence.

We also seem to have lost our way as a country populated by many different cultures and races that have been divided into pockets of neighborhoods that exclude those who come from different backgrounds and economic levels.

Division has had serious side effects. Violence has become an ugly outcome of dissatisfaction. There are more and more angry young people who are alienated from society and isolated from having emotionally satisfying relationships that we all need. This results in persons without conscience shooting and killing innocent people in public places.

It is my Christmas wish that we change the “It’s all about me” direction of America to “It’s all about us.”

It’s my wish that parents teach their children to have compassion and empathy for others. I wish that schools would prioritize components of their curriculum to encourage students to live lives of service to their communities. I’d also wish that our children from kindergarten through college learn how to assimilate with those who are not of their own kind, but are members of the human kind. Our institutions must help to prevent alienation and isolation. Build all-inclusive communities that develop self-worth where everyone contributes talents and skills for the benefit of others. This is not a call for political socialism. We have to widen our view from the blinders we have over our eyes that are preventing us from seeing the bigger picture of the ever-evolving diversity of our population.

I also wish that we would put an end to the hypocrisy that has broken the will of the American spirit. We support pro-life, but then we don’t help our young families with affordable child care. We urge a college education for our high school graduates and then we burden them with loans that leave them in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. We protest against racism, but we pass laws that have caused further separation. Some religious institutions preach service to all, yet they shut their doors to the divorced and to same sex couples.

Karin’s post said that there are but two equalizers for everyone, no matter who we are. We were all born into this world and we will all die from this world. It is my Christmas wish that we truly understand what that means. I have been given the gift of life just like everyone else. That is my miracle. What’s the miracle you may ask? No one ever asks to be born, but here we all are. We should understand why we are here and it doesn’t matter if we don’t look like each other or live like each other. We are all human beings wanting to live lives of happiness and satisfaction. If we can help restore the American spirit, then we can once again be united as one people and reclaim the honor of living in the best country in the world.

The action we take is simple. Pay attention to the fact that we are all sharing this planet together and the best Christmas gift we can give to each other is the gift of ourselves.

Rich Strack can be reached at richiesadie11@gmail.com