Admiral Hyman Rickover gave a wooden plaque to President Kennedy that he kept on

[Atticus]

his desk in the Oval Office. It bore a paraphrase from a prayer which JFK quoted in a speech: "O, God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small!"

I have thought of this often recently because it succinctly sums up my despair.

I find myself "at sea" with no recognizable landmarks. I was taught that honesty, decency, tolerance and generosity were the "stars" by which most honorable people plotted their course through life.

I now find people who openly ridicule such qualities as "weak" increasingly in charge of my nation and how we live within it.

I am still afloat but, like many, am hoping that the skies will clear in November and a "North Star" will again be visible.

My boat is VERY small.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

1. Admiral Rickover also had a profound effect on Jimmy Carter.

Carter's book "Why Not The Best" is based on Rickover's advice to him.

[hedda_foil]

2. My great uncle was Rickover's roommate at Annapolis -- probably because...

They were the only Jewish cadets in their class. Uncle Berns dropped out after his sophomore year to marry his sweetheart. Rickover went on to earn glory in WWII.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. Rickover is responsible for the advent of the nuclear submarine.

[Maraya1969]

3. But we are all surrounding you with out little boats too. You are not alone.

[Karadeniz]

5. To thine own Self be true. If the false religious beliefs, the materialism, the desire for power,

the intolerance, the abject selfishness of so many in American society have not capsized your little boat, you are lucky. Your boat will not sink. You can still guide it and help those floundering. You can't save everyone, only those who allow you near. Stay strong!