I will never forget the day that I decided to grow up. I was seventeen years old, and in my senior year at Hays High School. I had been caught sneaking out of school to smoke a cigarette. My punishment was that I received an “F” for that nine-week grading period in ‘Trig and Pre-Calculus’. In fact, I had not taken my school work all that seriously for almost two years. I was making good enough grades to satisfy my parents, but I knew that I could better. Blaming teachers was easy, and it was working—or, so it seemed.
Everyone needs a kick in the keister at some time in their life, and that “F” was one of mine. Math was supposed to be the basis of whatever career I might pursue; and I had flubbed it. As I stood in front of the mirror the next morning, I didn’t like what I thought I saw: I WAS A LOSER.
You all know that a similar butt-kick could happen to our beloved country, too, some day. Indeed, it already has. We call it “The financial crisis of 2008” or “The Great Recession”. But, what did we learn? Who do we blame? Certainly not ourselves, right? Financial Advisor David Bahnsen asked himself those questions, and then read more than seventy books and whitepapers to find the answer. I doubt you’ll like the answer he found, but if you’ll read his new book you’ll know that he’s identified it clearly enough. Mirrors are like that.
Crisis of Responsibility* is only 160 pages long. But it’s thorough and copiously documented. David has an orientation that I could describe as conservative and Presbyterian. His dad, Dr. Greg Bahnsen, was a Calvinist scholar and educator, who died when David was only twenty-one years old. That makes this book all the more remarkable, also considering that David is the age of my youngest children. He writes with the wisdom and compassion of a much older man, avoiding both sarcasm (too typical of his generation) and preachiness (too common in mine). David and I are both charter subscribers to Nick Murray Interactive - and you are all familiar with Nick - so I’m doubly pleased to recommend his elegantly written book to you. mh
* Crisis of Responsibility: Our Cultural Addiction to Blame and How You Can Cure It, Post Hill Press, 2018.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
