It's Memorial Day, Monday, May 26th, 2025.

Welcome to Denison Forum's Daily Article podcast.

Today's daily article is written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins.

My wife and I saw the latest film in the Mission Impossible franchise over the weekend.

Mission Impossible, the final reckoning, is filled with incredible, even terrifying, stunts

and astounding cinematography. Tom Cruise succeeds once again in his iconic role.

As a, quote, summer blockbuster, the movie deserves its accolades. However,

I am thinking today about a scene near the end of the film that captures the essence of the

franchise's message. I won't give away the plot by quoting these lines. Like it or not, we are

masters of our fate. Nothing is written. And our cause, however righteous, pales in comparison to the impact of our effect.

Any hope for a better future comes from willing that future into being, a future reflecting the measure of good within ourselves.

And all that is good inside us is measured by the good we do for others.

We all share the same fate, the same future, the sum of our infinite choices.

One such future is built on kindness, trust, and mutual understanding should we choose to accept it.

Driving without question toward a light we cannot see.

Not just for those we hold close, but for those we'll never meet.

Here we find the essence of America's highest ethos.

Character is measured by service to others.

This ethos is worthy of reflection on this solemn day.

On Memorial Day, our nation rightly remembers and honors the more than 1.1 million Americans

who have died in military service to our nation.

Each gave what Abraham Lincoln called the last full measure of devotion to our country.

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