For the past several years Americans have labored against one another to the point they have forgotten how to live together as Americans. There is little room for simple differences of opinion. If you do not think like I do, look like I do, believe as I do, or travel in the same circles I do, you are the enemy – a hated, despicable low life. Of course, Christians are quick to point out this is not at all true. They say “I love you;” it is your actions, looks, beliefs, and lifestyle I don’t care for or hate. On the other side of the coin, the non-believers are just as guilty of stirring the pot of discontent although they tend to be a little less apologetic. Honestly, both sides are very good at knowing what buttons to push and when.
Both sides seem to be ready even eager to engage in daily interpersonal combat. They thrive on the ballistic fallout of daily barrages of insults, allusive innuendoes, oblique or straight to the jugular remarks, and just about anything else that keeps the status quo of mean spirited going strong. They listen to the point of frenzy to accolades of self-righteousness that carry the ugliest of fruits against neighbors. They huddle in mass behind the anonymity of socialized media approaching it with the fervor of the gospel. They cower in constant fear of real and imagined boogie men unable or unwilling to tell the difference. They go as far as to surrender their lives to the ravings of lunatics, self-serving politicians, and lusting wannabe despots. Drinking the Kool-Aid of every recycled Bill Jones who comes along has become the norm. While one group prays for the nation’s schools, its leaders, their neighbors and anyone else they can think to blame for their problems, the other side point fingers at what they perceive as an overabundance of evangelical hypocrisy and self-righteous narcissism. Seldom do either side look in the mirror.
As a result, we live in such a self-perpetuating state of insanity, we have forgotten what it means to be an American. We have forgotten America is about the preservation of life, liberty, and happiness of ALL, and ALL is not open to interpretation. If you truly believe in the American dream, you do not wish it to be. Embracing ALL is what it means to be an American. Once we learn that America 101 lesson, we will have a chance to come to peace with our issues and start living as neighbors and not combatants. Name calling, pointing fingers, and prayers are not likely to get the job done. I doubt seriously God or anyone else has any intentions of coming to our rescue as long as we leave such a simple unlearned lesson on the table.
Like it or not, different strokes for different folks is the American way. That fence was built long ago by the forefathers of our country, and it is a fence we should think long and hard about before tearing it down.
©Jack Linton, October 18, 2022
I Don't Mean to Offend, but . . . . 