If you’d have told me last year what 2020 would be like, I wouldn’t have believed you.  Yet here we are.  From the global impact of the pandemic to the global impact of the tragic events in Minneapolis, we have seen the best and worst in humankind.

Having lived in the 60’s, there is a disheartening familiarity to it at times and though I may have only been a young boy, I was nonetheless cognizant of those dramatic times.  Polio vaccines in school, the Vietnam War, civil unrest and so on.  Recent events have made me realize just how aware I was back then even though only nine.  It’s astonishing how sights, sounds and smells trigger memories long forgotten.  I recently awoke with a particular verse playing in my head from a song called “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan which goes:

Yes, ‘n’ how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, ‘n’ how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, ‘n’ how many deaths will it take ’til he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind

I’m sure, as with all of us, our collective life experience informs who we are and guides us down life’s path.  No doubt they are the reason I wound up in a credit union that focuses on improving the lives and experiences of those we serve.  They also remind me that Freedom is not just our name; it is a symbol of our commitment to our community.

Our mission of people helping people requires we not be silent in troubled times.  It requires we stand united with all people against racism, hatred, intolerance, and injustice.  It requires that we stand, as an organization and as human beings, in support of equality, diversity, inclusion, and the well-being of our global community.

Mike

Michael MacPherson
President and Chief Executive Officer
Freedom Federal Credit Union