What has happened to
our country? To our world?
I’m the first to tell you that “nobody said life was easy”
as my mother often warned me. And there is much to frown about, cry over, and
exclaim in anger or frustration in life. But our emotions – and we are an emotional species – also include
laughter, wonder, and tolerance, to make life bearable and at times, even
enjoyable.
Our governments and others who CLAIM to have our best
interests at heart, however, are eroding not only our desire to laugh and view
this incredible world – and society – with wonder, but they are destroying our
tolerance of each other … when it exists at all.
In what way, you ask? Make that wayS.
- By creating laws that punish the minority and leave the
majority frustrated because they are penalized too
- By pitting race against race in immigration and “minority”laws
- By constructing such a convoluted and corrupt lawmaking
system that even lawmakers become entangled in their webs of deceit
- By extorting taxes and spending the funds irresponsibly,
causing higher taxes while under-funding the intended (and advertised) faction
- And so many more …
Add ALL of these government sanctions along with natural disasters,
common personal ailments and life pains … it gives pause to consider exactly
why should we smile? I wish I could offer a rosy alternative.
You may not believe that I am an optimist
I’ve been considered “negative” because I also look at the
realities of any given situation. Blame it on my Scout days – Be Prepared. That
does not only apply to losing one’s way in the woods. I simply like to be
prepared for the opposite of what I am striving to achieve. Call me pragmatic –
but don’t call me negative. I prefer to see the glass half full.
And I LOVE to laugh. Though it’s been awfully damn difficult
to do so lately. My personal soap opera life notwithstanding, our world is
filled with horrors and devastation, making hibernation a desirable alternative,
and Big Foot the perfect mate.
I know, I know, you’re saying, but the world has always been
cruel and vicious. It’s true. In every era, millennium, and species, man as do
beast, prey on each other relentlessly – but we are currently experiencing one
of the eras in which men are treating each other with particular abomination.
History has
documented the brutal behavior of man in the ancient areas of the world: The
so-called religious Crusades, the cruelty and inhumane treatment of Medieval
times … and none of our ancestors are absolved of blame.
One can ask why, over so many thousands of years “world
peace” could not be achieved. And one answer could be that there was not world
consciousness. Much of our globe was still uninhabited and communication
between countries was not the split-second communiqué of today. Which brings me
to the crux of this article.
We have no excuse for the violence and corruption in our current
societies.
Most especially not in the United States. Why? Because the
US allowed it to spread to our soil.
In its inception the United States of America expressed
integrity, equality, and democracy (as much as is possible – I don’t believe true
democracy is achievable). Not to say our forefathers were perfect or totally
non-violent, but for the majority a certain civility was expected. Violence and
cruelty were not as pervasive as in other countries.
Yes, my ancestors – and yours – were fortunate to make their
way here, for which I am eternally grateful. By the time I was born, World War
II had ended and we established a society that worked toward the finer and more
tolerant ways of life. Of course, there was MUCH to be accomplished and so much
has faltered, but the majority of US citizens were law-abiding and beginning to
understand each other. (I know … this is another debate waiting to happen …
another time.)
In order to validate those claims however, eventually, our
government felt it needed to over-compensate immigrants for previous atrocities
levied on their ancestors (mine and yours) by the cruel minorities, practically
canonizing the 20th century immigrants as they arrived on our
shores.
New immigrants do nothing to assimilate or enjoy the original covenants of the United States.
Instead, they bring their own countries’ flaws to America, instilling their third-world atrocities insidiously
into our society, under the guise of religion. Remember the Crusades?!
What does this have to do with the extinction of fun, humor, and
tolerance?
In the US we used to be able to poke fun at ourselves. That’s
how Jeff Foxworthy, Eddie Murphy, and George Carlin, gained their fame. Jokes
could include “racist” topics – but ALL races were ridiculed. We laughed. And
once upon a time we enjoyed a BBQ with our mixed-culture neighbors. Sometimes
even re-telling the jokes, because we could laugh at each other, equally.
Not anymore. Many of us are so stressed with lack of work
which equates to severely diminished incomes that nothing is funny. The US and
State governments are clueless to any real resolutions to the economy’s ills and
the stress grows. It must vent somewhere – it does – on each other.
There is currently more personal violence in this country
than has ever before been recorded. Not I, or anyone I know, was brought up
with this level of incivility. Other countries – especially Mexico which is
attached at our hip – have lived eternally with violence as a way of life. We
have not. Until now.
September 11, 2001 changed that. You would think the US
would have become more intolerant – for a while it did – or at least it
pretended to. But more than ten years later, the US government is still
reluctant to close its borders, or “profile” and restrict the flow of
immigrants. Give me a break.
The concern is for other governments’ reaction and
displeasure with the US if we profile anyone or turn them away. Thank you.
Thank you for having my back.
With the global soapbox we now have, the political pundits
and maniacal zealots reach many times the number of people once available to
them. They fuel the disillusioned, the degenerates, the desperate.
Caught between people made more violent with stress, and those
who think they have a right to force their opinions on others, we live in a
very, very dangerous world. The United States is no longer a sanctuary. It is
part of the problem, rather than the solution.
And there is nothing funny about that.
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