In his message to Congress
after the Attack on America, President Bush said
our anger had turned to resolve. If we were to
draft a resolution boaters, something that we
could do to speed victory, what would it say?
All of the psychologists
on TV had a remedy for this uncertain time. They
saw we should do things that give us comfort and
that bring balance back into our lives.
The economists say we need
to do the things we were doing when the economy
was strong. They say, spend.
Our resolution should combine
these two pieces of advice. It should urge us
to do the things that give us comfort and solace,
activities that bring us together as families
and friends. It should urge us to help restore
the economy by spending on the things that we
need.
The ideal boaters' resolution
will express both sentiments. It will remind us
to spend, as we always have, on our boats. It
will urge us to get back into our boats and on
the water with our family and friends and do what
we most like to do, the one thing that brings
us the most comfort.
It's not easy to do what
many of us might regard, perhaps unconsciously,
as frivolous. Watching the devastation on television
and hearing the heartbreaking stories has affected
us in a way we don't recognize. It's fear. It's
a natural reaction, but it can be our enemy as
well as our friend.
Fear immobilizes us. Fear
tells us to conserve, not spend. Fear tells us
to be somber, not happy. This is one of those
times we should tell fear to go jump in the lake.
Let's go boating. The economist and the psychologist
will join us.
America will not crumble
over this incident. We are greater than that.
However, if airlines don't fly, and people don't
travel, and tourists don't shop, and, yes, if
boaters don't boat, then our economy will remain
hard aground.
Boaters can help re-launch
America's economy. If your boat needs anything
at all, buy it now.
My husband likes to repeat
an old Norwegian saying -- Bound is a boatless
man. To us this expresses the essential power
of boating, which is its ability to lift the human
spirit, to free us from petty routines and unwarranted
restrictions. As such, boating is the perfect
symbol of our birthright - freedom.
What better way, then,
to thumb our collective nose at our aggressors
than by getting back on our boats and back to
what we most enjoy?
