Tap the gear icon above to manage new release emails.
Follow Orville Burks to get new release emails from Audible and Amazon.
Growing up in a blended family shaped my ability to view situations objectively and without preconceived notions. Being raised in a Christian household taught me to distinguish right from wrong and to respect elders and those in positions of authority. However, respect for authority does not mean blind obedience; rather, it involves thoughtful discernment and personal accountability. From an early age, I learned the value of hard work, responsibility, and faith.
While these lessons guided much of my life, I often sensed an underlying emptiness. Although no one in my family served in the armed forces or as a first responder, I developed a deep respect and admiration for those who do—an appreciation whose origin I cannot fully explain. As I matured, I came to better understand both the importance of what I had been taught and what I had missed. As a parent of five remarkable children, I sought to provide them with the guidance and values I felt were lacking in my own upbringing. Ultimately, only they can determine how successful I was in doing so.
In my second career, working in public education for nearly eighteen years, I witnessed a growing erosion of respect—not only toward elders and authority figures, but toward oneself and others. This decline deeply concerns me. Respect is a foundational value that must be cultivated at home, reinforced in schools, and modeled in society. Parents must take responsibility for teaching it, children must learn its importance, and our nation must recommit itself to the principles that foster mutual respect, accountability, and excellence.
Read more
Read less
