After being bombarded with the seemingly-endless posts, articles, letters, and conversations regarding the election results over the past couple of days, I feel the need to finally get something off my chest! There is so much hatred, separation-consciousness, and venom being spewed into the ethers by all variety of folks--some surprising, and some not-so-surprising, One thing for certain is that everyone has an opinion! I am disappointed at the "I, me, mine" mentality and the"sour grapes", "Oh poor me" attitudes that are sweeping this great country of ours. This country is called the UNITED States of America, in case anyone has forgotten. It is not called the SEPARATE States of America! We have all complained about the nasty, mudslinging campaigns run by both sides and by the super PAC"s and special interest groups over the past several months. I thought that everyone could not wait for the political ads to end. Instead, many appear to be continuing with the slam campaigns and mud-slinging in their own right. The election is over. The people have spoken. Oh, and by the way, that is WE the people, not ME the people. Have we really let ourselves become so brainwashed by the media and marketing campaigns of the two parties that we truly believe that we hate each other? That there is no solution to our problems? That the end is near? REALLY???
One person and one party did not cause all of the problems that exist in the world today. Does anyone truly believe that any ONE person has that much power??? Come on now, folks. Maybe, just maybe, there are a multitude of factors at work here. Maybe, just, maybe, we all must share in the blame. It is only fair that if we expect to share in the positive, that we must also share responsibility for the negative. And maybe, if we stop whining and complaining about what we have lost for just a minute, we may be able to see the bigger picture and perhaps, feel some gratitude and count our blessings. We have so much to be thankful for in this country. Even those pessimists among us, if they pause for just a moment with their finger-pointing, can surely find a multitude of things for which to be grateful. I'm sorry if you aren't as rich and powerful as you would like to be at this moment in time. But is that truly all that matters to you? If it is, then I do feel sorry for you. And If you are unable to feel love and compassion for your fellow humans, then you are missing out on the true reason for our existence!
Every human being, by virtue of being a human being, has the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". And some pretty wise founding fathers of ours believed this enough to put that down on paper, and it has been this country's guiding light for over 200 years now. When did we get so selfish, elitist, and separate from our brothers and sisters, that those "inalienable rights" became true for only ourselves, and not for ALL???!!!
Over the last decade or so, we have seen many supposedly indestructible institutions come crumbling down, or at least develop cracks in their foundations. Wall Street. Big Banking. Insurance. Big Oil. The Housing Market. Maybe these things are failing because they NEED to fail because they no longer have integrity, and no longer serve the greater good of WE THE PEOPLE--ALL the people, not just the rich. Not just the priveledged. ALL the people! Maybe they need to shift so that something greater, better, and more appropriate can take their place. Nature does not like a vacuum, and perhaps the vacuum created by these self-serving institutions is being filled with something more compassionate, more appropriate. Perhaps these institutions, if we all put our heads and hearts together, can be shifted and changed so that they once again serve WE the people. But in order for that to happen, we need to stop hating. across the aisles, across state and party lines, across the country, and across the world. We need to stop listening to the hatred and lies propagated by the media and political interest groups, and get our own house in order.
This election, more than any I have lived through, seems to have polarized the country to a greater extent than any other that I can recall. Perhaps that is because we are all able to talk to everyone via social media, the internet, etc. now. But this polarization has caused such a rift within this country that it needs to stop! And for all you Bible scholars out there, perhaps you remember some wise and timeless words spoken by none other than Jesus himself--"A house divided upon itself cannot stand". I think that now is the time to take those words to heart and begin mending fences and building bridges between the "sides".. Perhaps if we actually take the time and subdue our egos for a brief and shining moment, we will actually see that the "sides" are not all that far apart on beliefs, wants, needs, etc. Individual thoughts, beliefs, and ideas are what make this country great. It has fostered generations of innovators, inventors, and trail-blazers. It is the reason that we have been called the greatest country in the world. The greatness comes not from material wealth, but from freedom-- physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. It is what has set us apart as a shining example to the rest of the world. It is what our founding fathers ensured when they wrote our Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence. They also called these freedoms "self-evident". Are we forgetting this? Are we really so far gone as a nation and as a people that we now wish to curtail the rights and freedoms of others, just because they inconvenience us? Just because they are different from our own? Have we really come to this?
Well, I refuse to accept this notion. I believe that if we all dig down deep within us, to that part of us where our inner truth and light shine unabated, I think we can find common ground for the greater good of WE the people to begin the foundation of a greater, more evolved society. One that continues to embrace freedom for all. One that continues to defend life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for ALL! One that will continue to be a shining beacon of light and hope for the rest of the world. But first we have to put aside our differences, stop perpetuating the hatred, and begin healing this great nation of ours! Let love, unity, and peace reign once again in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave! That is my sincere hope!
One person and one party did not cause all of the problems that exist in the world today. Does anyone truly believe that any ONE person has that much power??? Come on now, folks. Maybe, just maybe, there are a multitude of factors at work here. Maybe, just, maybe, we all must share in the blame. It is only fair that if we expect to share in the positive, that we must also share responsibility for the negative. And maybe, if we stop whining and complaining about what we have lost for just a minute, we may be able to see the bigger picture and perhaps, feel some gratitude and count our blessings. We have so much to be thankful for in this country. Even those pessimists among us, if they pause for just a moment with their finger-pointing, can surely find a multitude of things for which to be grateful. I'm sorry if you aren't as rich and powerful as you would like to be at this moment in time. But is that truly all that matters to you? If it is, then I do feel sorry for you. And If you are unable to feel love and compassion for your fellow humans, then you are missing out on the true reason for our existence!
Every human being, by virtue of being a human being, has the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". And some pretty wise founding fathers of ours believed this enough to put that down on paper, and it has been this country's guiding light for over 200 years now. When did we get so selfish, elitist, and separate from our brothers and sisters, that those "inalienable rights" became true for only ourselves, and not for ALL???!!!
Over the last decade or so, we have seen many supposedly indestructible institutions come crumbling down, or at least develop cracks in their foundations. Wall Street. Big Banking. Insurance. Big Oil. The Housing Market. Maybe these things are failing because they NEED to fail because they no longer have integrity, and no longer serve the greater good of WE THE PEOPLE--ALL the people, not just the rich. Not just the priveledged. ALL the people! Maybe they need to shift so that something greater, better, and more appropriate can take their place. Nature does not like a vacuum, and perhaps the vacuum created by these self-serving institutions is being filled with something more compassionate, more appropriate. Perhaps these institutions, if we all put our heads and hearts together, can be shifted and changed so that they once again serve WE the people. But in order for that to happen, we need to stop hating. across the aisles, across state and party lines, across the country, and across the world. We need to stop listening to the hatred and lies propagated by the media and political interest groups, and get our own house in order.
This election, more than any I have lived through, seems to have polarized the country to a greater extent than any other that I can recall. Perhaps that is because we are all able to talk to everyone via social media, the internet, etc. now. But this polarization has caused such a rift within this country that it needs to stop! And for all you Bible scholars out there, perhaps you remember some wise and timeless words spoken by none other than Jesus himself--"A house divided upon itself cannot stand". I think that now is the time to take those words to heart and begin mending fences and building bridges between the "sides".. Perhaps if we actually take the time and subdue our egos for a brief and shining moment, we will actually see that the "sides" are not all that far apart on beliefs, wants, needs, etc. Individual thoughts, beliefs, and ideas are what make this country great. It has fostered generations of innovators, inventors, and trail-blazers. It is the reason that we have been called the greatest country in the world. The greatness comes not from material wealth, but from freedom-- physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. It is what has set us apart as a shining example to the rest of the world. It is what our founding fathers ensured when they wrote our Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence. They also called these freedoms "self-evident". Are we forgetting this? Are we really so far gone as a nation and as a people that we now wish to curtail the rights and freedoms of others, just because they inconvenience us? Just because they are different from our own? Have we really come to this?
Well, I refuse to accept this notion. I believe that if we all dig down deep within us, to that part of us where our inner truth and light shine unabated, I think we can find common ground for the greater good of WE the people to begin the foundation of a greater, more evolved society. One that continues to embrace freedom for all. One that continues to defend life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for ALL! One that will continue to be a shining beacon of light and hope for the rest of the world. But first we have to put aside our differences, stop perpetuating the hatred, and begin healing this great nation of ours! Let love, unity, and peace reign once again in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave! That is my sincere hope!
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