We Are All Americans

 
To say that a house divided against itself cannot stand is by extrapolation saying that a country divided will not survive.

​​These may be the darkest days of our nation. In the start of the 21st century was 911, and we stood shoulder to shoulder in support of our fallen families.
 
We've been strong in Boston, a strength found in universal condemnation.
 
We've fought wars together, as a nation, even when some have argued their legitimacy.
 
But one war, the Civil War, was fought primarily for one very serious reason, slavery.  The turmoil of today, the distrust and distain of today, are echoes of an era that strikes an ominous ring on today’s liberty bell.
 
Today, each of us has the responsibility to hold high the Stars and Stripes, not a flag of Stars and Bars. America is our responsibility, and it should be our responsibility to pass it down to our children in a better more evolved way. But should we not succeed at improvement, we must succeed at passing down these united states.
 
I hope I'm an alarmist.  But what is causing our 21st century division has a focal point. It has one polarizing person who is a caricature incarnate of a self-appointed demigod. He is empowered by a bedrock of our constitution, free speech, and given the bully pulpit of social media. And that’s fine, our country brought us Abraham Lincoln, but it also yielded Larry, Curly and Moe.
 
We will always have comedians to make us laugh. It's when the comedians take themselves seriously that we run into trouble.
 
Most serious people would say it’s wrong to shout fire in a crowded room. 
 
Most serious people would say it's the general's responsibility to give the army orders.
 
Most serious people would say that it is the coach who stands before his team and urges them to march into the stadium to fight and to win.
 
What do people do in a theater when no one shouts fire? Nothing.
 
What does an army do without orders? Nothing.
 
What will a team do without the coaches urging? Well, they may not even play the game.
 
I heard a legislator argue the mob was solely responsible for their actions. And sinisterly, deflected any responsibility by suggesting an unsupported allegation that another faction was responsible.
 
Echoing this statement, social media became the unwitting platform to throw spitballs. Unfortunately, many spitballs stick, even though most are unreasonable and unreliable.
 
That leaves us in our present, with blame shared all around, and it’s a blame recognized by serious people but somehow, unthinkably, not accepted or understood by the blind followers of one source of news or information.
 
The burden of proof is weighed by our legal system. These are serious people, regardless of their underlying values. They have looked at the evidence, considered arguments, and reached their legal ruling.
 
Yet despite each of these judicial rulings, members of congress objected to the electoral vote that didn’t benefit their position.  They went on to suggest that they could evaluate the law better than the law itself. I fear for our nation where its leaders spend more thought on how to remain leaders than they do on how to lead our nation.
 
For if they were leading our nation, they would be striving to heal the separation, not further it.  If they’re not trying to solve the problem, then aren’t they part of the problem?  They are, for the most part, well informed reasoning people. So, I can only speculate on the cold self-serving calculus that seems to motivate them.
 
We are Americans, we can only remain united if we all choose to. All other roads lead to further division, increased distrust, and mounting hatred. Do we seriously want to take that road?

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