Ray Dalio (@RayDalio) “Memorial Day leads me to 1) have a great time with family and friends, barbecuin” — TopicDigg

Memorial Day leads me to 1) have a great time with family and friends, barbecuing, and listening to good music, 2) reflect on wars in general and those who lost their lives to protect us and our system, and 3) reflect on our country's principles. I am deeply grateful to those who lost their lives or were harmed in the service of protecting our ability to live in our unique way that is a function of our unique principles. I try to remind myself what those principles are that we have fought and are fighting for—democracy, free speech, equal opportunity, being the land of the free and home of the brave, etc. That leads me to wonder whether (and doubt that) most Americans could now agree on the principles that bind them and are worth fighting and dying for. Frankly, I am having a tough time reconciling what is now happening with what I grew up learning mattered most and what brought about true American exceptionalism—values that included equal opportunity, rule of law, freedom of speech, diversity of thinking, democracy, openness to good immigration, etc. I really think that we could use a clarification of—perhaps even a referendum about—what our principles are and then what KPIs and surveys can show how we're doing living up to them. Memorial Day also leads me to reflect on the wars that have occurred repeatedly throughout history in all countries at a scale that, thankfully, few of us living have experienced. While, thanks to the heroic efforts of those who protect us, these major conflicts haven’t happened to most of us in our lifetimes, an objective observer would have to wonder whether such a conflict could happen to us or our children or our grandchildren, which reminds me that we need to focus on principles and ways of operating that will help us avoid such fights. Then I reflect on all this reflecting I'm doing—and how it’s taking my attention as away from my Memorial Day barbecuing picnic with friends and family which reminds me that I need to prioritize better. Cheers!