I am thankful, but I'm not content. I am hopeful, but I'm not confident. I am proud to be an American, but I am not at
ease. This election season has agitated
me, but I hope it’s a purposeful agitation.
Your truth is not my truth. Your opinion is not my opinion. And guess what, that’s okay. Stop telling me I can’t feel the way I do and
stop insinuating that I’m an idiot because I may disagree with you. The point is that there are far too few facts
out there. These opinions that guide
people are built on half-truths, if any truth at all.
You cannot claim to have a complete understanding of a book when you
only highlighted one sentence in chapter five and based your comprehension of
the book on that one highlighted sentence.
You missed chapters one through four, and you left out chapters six
through ten.
But even bigger than that, we’ve missed much, much, much
more than that. While people were participating
in partisan arguments, a child committed suicide. Children had to skip meals to save money for the family, another veteran couldn’t find a job (the unemployment rate for all Veterans continues to fall), children were sold into slavery, and millions of people carried on under the burden of
an undiagnosed mental disorder and depression; all of this within the borders of
the United States of America.
1 in 65,000 children ages 10 to 14 commit suicide each year[1].
In America, more than 1.3 million children will be homeless this year[2]
and 17 million children live in households where they have to skip meals or eat
less to make ends meet[3].
In 2011, there were 2,234 children waiting to be adopted in NC alone[4].
Young boys and girls in every city on the globe are forced to serve as sex slaves[5].
I am truly grasping for answers; I have set out to
search not for the meaning of life, but for a life with meaning. I believe that it our experiences along the
journey of living teach us two crucial lessons: compassion and complacency thus leaving us with two major choices: mercy and self-righteousness. While we are a conglomeration of each, one
will lead. Personally, I hope for
compassion and mercy to lead my footsteps.
Listening and watching during this heated election
season caused me to try to identify things that are important to me. Each of us have a platform, in a sense, a
cause we support, an allegiance we grip, and a right we do not wish to give
up. These days, our opinions win out
over the facts and we base our identity around what we want to be the truth,
not what is the truth. (Of course, some could debate for hours regarding the
definition of truth.) Obama supporters
degrade Republicans as a whole and Romney supports degrade Democrats as a whole. Here’s the deal, it takes two to tango: Democrats and Republicans, each side with their
own truth, agenda, opinions and facts that make them look better than the “opposition”,
this is the problem.
No longer do we purposely
and decidedly debate and discuss to seek the best solution for our country as a
whole. There is simply a divide that is
heart breaking--- no longer the betterment of the whole; it’s the betterment of
whatever “side” someone is on. And
please don’t tell me it’s not true, I’ve read the Facebook rants and posts and
watched the media: Cruel, demeaning, demoralizing
and failing to offer a hint of respect for those who do not share the same
opinions. What's happening, in the meantime, when we aren't watching?
I recently watch Ethel:
The Personal and Untold Story of Ethel Kennedy. It sparked an interest in
Robert F. Kennedy. I’ve always held an
affinity to JFK, but I really don’t have a lot of knowledge on the Kennedy clan. So I’ve done some digging. I found a profound speech by RFK and his
words truly inspire me.
"…I think that we
can work together - I don't think that we have to shoot at each other, to beat
each other, to curse each other and criticize each other, I think that we can
do better in this country...If we believe that we, as Americans, are bound
together by a common concern for each other, then an urgent national priority
is upon us. We must begin to end the
disgrace of this other America... Too much and for too long, we seemed to have
surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation
of material things...We can do better here in the United States, we can do
better.” -Robert F. Kennedy, March 18, 1968, University of Kansas[6]
I want to believe in America again. Disgrace comes when our focus
is off. And I’m not talking about faith
or religion. Ultimately, we are all
human beings living this life together, regardless of your faith or the god you believe in. I’m tired of fighting about who is
right and wrong.
Human beings were not created to be cruel to one
other. We were created to love one
another. We were created with unique
personalities, thoughts and ideas, yet we were still created to love one
another.
I want to believe in the goodness of mankind again.
I want to believe that when we stop relying on the
media to tell us what is important and we start researching and finding the
facts, we’ll truly begin to make informed decisions.
Open your eyes and find something really important to
fight for… what is the point of your fight? Will winning your argument feed a starving
child, clothe the naked, provide shelter for a homeless family, give hope to the
hopeless?
If you answered no, it may be time to shut up and do
something.
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