Reflections on Snowstorms
by Tom Buchanan
January 5, 2007

I would like to make a few observations regarding the past few snowstorms.

Like many, I was glad to make it home on Wednesday, December 20th as the Holiday blizzard began in force. The images on the television and the voices on the radio made it perfectly clear to everyone on the Front Range that Colorado was closed.

Thursday was a time of reflection about the real reason for the Christmas holiday. It was a message that we need to slow down and not get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of commercialism.

Friday morning came and it began the long, tiring process of digging out. It was a time that many people actually met their neighbors as they helped each other clear the snow from each other’s driveways.

As things returned to normal and people tried to catch up on the now last-minute Christmas shopping I noticed people were generally friendlier than normal on the roads and in the parking lots. People actually waved others ahead of them instead of making sure they got to where they were going first.

I can surmise that disasters, natural or otherwise bring out the best in humanity. Most of our time is squandered away concentrating on our uniqueness and defending our position. We choose sides in everything. Whether we are liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican, male, female, or the color of our skin is black, white, yellow or brown, if we are young or old, rich or poor, Christian, Jewish, Muslim or even atheist there is nothing like a good politically incorrect blizzard that treats all of us the same to bring us all together.

Maybe the lesson is that we need to spend less time comparing ourselves to each other and more time relating to each other and concentrating on our similarities. Perhaps we should stop the culture of diversity, designed to divide us, and start focusing on the things that unite us as Americans and make us stronger.

It would be nice if, after the snow melts, we will not return to our corners and come out swinging.

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