Polarized is the word that sprang into my mind this morning. It does seem like we, as Americans, have become sharply divided. I'm struggling to understand just how this came about. Yes, it is the Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton thing on the surface, but it is much deeper than that. What bothers me the most is that if you plunge into that depth, you find nothing more than superficiality. What I man to say is folks are not nearly as well informed as they would have you believe. When the subject of world politics comes up how many of us really are ? The history we have been taught in our schools and colleges is definitely slanted to the American opinion. Well, it used to be anyway and that is what the senior generation knows. In recent years the pendulum has swung and a different lesson is being taught. American pride is being labeled " nationalistic " with all that term implies. Patriots' are being scorned as nothing more than bigots.
Abraham Lincoln famously stated a simple fact, A nation divided against itself cannot stand. " That is nothing more than straight up common sense. We are now deeply divided and on what issue ? Is it really who won the election ? On the surface you could say , yes, that's it. You wouldn't be wrong. Digging deeper into that question you will find much more. We are divided along a line of self preservation as a nation, or a redefining of our nation.
How did this happen ? I believe a great deal of it has to do with social media. We have all made our " friends " list. Following that we have begun to define ourselves by that friends listing ! Many folks have weeded out the ones that don't agree with everything they post, either blocking or unfriending ! The modern version of being shunned. Perhaps Facebook and other social media sites will begin to assign a letter to our profiles. This could identify us to others, much like the Scarlet letter did, before anyone should be offended by even speaking to us. I believe it to be a fair statement when I say. you are being judged by your social media page. This is doubly true by the ones that are repeatedly decrying, don't judge. Hypocrisy as its' finest. Do you know so and so ? No, just check out their " profile " page and read their posts, it'll tell you all you need to know. One errant post or share can get you labeled and quickly.
The problem, as I see it, is not a lack of information. The problem is there is no central lesson being taught. What we used to call the " moral " of the story. From that moral a maxim was learned. What is a maxim ? A maxim is a short concise statement of a general truth or manner of conduct. When you don't have a permanent moral foundation you cannot construct a maxim ! To put all that in another way what I'm saying is, you have decide between right and wrong. And that begins with understanding a simple concept. It goes right back to what Monroe, Jefferson and the rest agreed upon. We hold these truths to be self evident ! Those are the morals our nation was founded upon. Was the constitutional convention comprised of a bunch of nationalists ? Yes it was. It was that collection of nationalists that formed this republic and vowed to preserve it by all means necessary. I submit to you that is a maxim formed from our moral foundation.
This polarization has come about by a lack of understanding and an abundance of opinion. When we divide ourselves into groups, and only listen to the group we are in, that is the inevitable result. It is far more comfortable to surround yourself with those that just agree. It feels great to have others telling you how right you are and how " enlightened " you have become. The platitudes and attitudes are flying ! But as with most everything, there is a price to be paid for gain. Once the price is paid there will be no refund. Freedom lost can only be regained by strife. Never in the history of man has a nation voluntarily changed its' form of government. That ain't gonna happen !
We need to achieve an equalization of the poles. A balance must exist. With direct current the negative flows to the positive. That is how it occurs in nature. If it flows unimpeded, that is to say without resistance, we call that a short circuit. The battery overheats and the circuit fails. The resistance is what causes work to be done. It takes just as much resistance to preserve our nation as it did to create it. That is a maxim derived from the moral of the story that is America. You don't gain freedom by surrendering it !
Abraham Lincoln famously stated a simple fact, A nation divided against itself cannot stand. " That is nothing more than straight up common sense. We are now deeply divided and on what issue ? Is it really who won the election ? On the surface you could say , yes, that's it. You wouldn't be wrong. Digging deeper into that question you will find much more. We are divided along a line of self preservation as a nation, or a redefining of our nation.
How did this happen ? I believe a great deal of it has to do with social media. We have all made our " friends " list. Following that we have begun to define ourselves by that friends listing ! Many folks have weeded out the ones that don't agree with everything they post, either blocking or unfriending ! The modern version of being shunned. Perhaps Facebook and other social media sites will begin to assign a letter to our profiles. This could identify us to others, much like the Scarlet letter did, before anyone should be offended by even speaking to us. I believe it to be a fair statement when I say. you are being judged by your social media page. This is doubly true by the ones that are repeatedly decrying, don't judge. Hypocrisy as its' finest. Do you know so and so ? No, just check out their " profile " page and read their posts, it'll tell you all you need to know. One errant post or share can get you labeled and quickly.
The problem, as I see it, is not a lack of information. The problem is there is no central lesson being taught. What we used to call the " moral " of the story. From that moral a maxim was learned. What is a maxim ? A maxim is a short concise statement of a general truth or manner of conduct. When you don't have a permanent moral foundation you cannot construct a maxim ! To put all that in another way what I'm saying is, you have decide between right and wrong. And that begins with understanding a simple concept. It goes right back to what Monroe, Jefferson and the rest agreed upon. We hold these truths to be self evident ! Those are the morals our nation was founded upon. Was the constitutional convention comprised of a bunch of nationalists ? Yes it was. It was that collection of nationalists that formed this republic and vowed to preserve it by all means necessary. I submit to you that is a maxim formed from our moral foundation.
This polarization has come about by a lack of understanding and an abundance of opinion. When we divide ourselves into groups, and only listen to the group we are in, that is the inevitable result. It is far more comfortable to surround yourself with those that just agree. It feels great to have others telling you how right you are and how " enlightened " you have become. The platitudes and attitudes are flying ! But as with most everything, there is a price to be paid for gain. Once the price is paid there will be no refund. Freedom lost can only be regained by strife. Never in the history of man has a nation voluntarily changed its' form of government. That ain't gonna happen !
We need to achieve an equalization of the poles. A balance must exist. With direct current the negative flows to the positive. That is how it occurs in nature. If it flows unimpeded, that is to say without resistance, we call that a short circuit. The battery overheats and the circuit fails. The resistance is what causes work to be done. It takes just as much resistance to preserve our nation as it did to create it. That is a maxim derived from the moral of the story that is America. You don't gain freedom by surrendering it !
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