Saving America

Sitting here a few weeks before the election, I shudder in fear of what my country has evolved into during the last couple of decades. I won’t say it is the country for which I put my life on the line. I joined the United States Navy because I wanted to go to sea, not because I wanted to go to war. Fate intervened and here I sit, terrified, angry, sad, and, yes, patriotic. I just read how the president of the United States of America, soon facing reelection, is motivating crowds to violence against his political opponents, one a governor of a state within our country.

 Has it come to this?

 I have friends who have different political view than mine. We used to talk about them. We discussed topics we felt were worth discussing. How much regulation is enough? How much regulation is too much? What are the valid purposes of good government? How do we measure the wealth of a country and its people? What are the benefits of enlightened immigration? What is the role of government in equalizing the opportunity palate for the myriad colors of its people? When will women in our country be equal citizens? Children? Those whom nature has determined to be different?

 Now? Now it seems that the only issues worth voting for are unborn babies, religion, and guns. Those are the mentionable topics. Underlying it all is the issue of white supremacy.

 The unborn? Every educated person, and/or competent processor of facts I know realizes that the best ways to address the issue of abortions is to first address the issue of unwanted pregnancies. Then they agree that sex education, access to contraceptives, and equal male responsibility address those issues far better that hateful and misguided laws.

 Religion? Which religion? A person cannot say “Mine,’ for there are so many. How about the words of the figure on that lonely hill in Judea who is reported to have said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7, NIV)

Guns? I invite any reader to come to my “little postage stamp” of America on a Sunday afternoon, listen carefully, and tell me with a straight face that someone is confiscating guns. For maximum benefit, best wait until church has let out, lunch finished, and the first case of beer consumed.

Bigotry? I thought we might have had it on the run once. Then, America elected a person of color to the presidency and, like some powerful volcano that we thought was dormant, hate spewed forth like some noxious poison and became acceptable. It seems to buttress our every movement.

Here is my modest proposal to those whose political views are opposite mine. Let us unite for our country and vote this brood of vipers out of Washington. Then for the next two years and the two after that, let us have a normally functioning two-party system that deliberates and votes on issues and policies that area real and honest. May the side with policies that are free from hate and best for America win. I’m willing to take that chance.

Are you?