Betrayal and Redemption

Flipping through the channels the other night, I caught a special on HBO called “Right America: Feeling Wronged.” While I have mixed feelings about the show, due to the stereotypical presentations of anti-gay, pro-life Christian Conservatives, NASCAR hicks and proud Rednecks, these people spoke the words I’ve been mulling about in my head and heart this last year. I didn’t see myself portrayed, but they spoke a truth that I couldn’t deny. Hearing their words, I thought: these folks are the meat and potatoes of our country. They are what give America its grit and pride. These people are the real deal.

Our beloved country is about to be stolen from us, maybe it’s already been taken from us, and we’re still too numb to know how to respond. When I saw scenes in the program on the campaign trail of the McCain supporters in many different states, I was buoyed yet also very sad. All of these people believed McCain, and our country, would win. They spoke truths about the terrorist threat to our country that our elected officials do not seem to understand. They spoke truths about the state of the economy, about the impact of illegal immigrants on jobs, resources, and on our society, and asked how can we trust our president when we don’t even know for certain if he’s an American citizen.

Listening to talk radio hosts present their side of the story these last few months, I am taken back in time to junior and high school social studies classes, when we studied the birth of our country and what made it so radical. I am awestruck by how far our society has come from the truths and values of our founding fathers. Thomas Jefferson said, “The government is best which governs the least because its people discipline themselves.” We have dumbed down our society. We have forgotten our true values of responsibility, accountability, and the ability to stand on our own two feet. We have forgotten how to be honest, decent, and courteous. We are no longer disciplined. We have sold our souls. For what?

My upbringing was in the birthplace of the American Revolution, in Lexington, Massachusetts. My father was a Common Cause Democrat until he realized that entitlement gets people nowhere. That in order to contribute to society, one must give back, not take, take, take. America gives people the choice to pursue life, liberty, and happiness, but one has to work towards those goals. People need to use their brains and their muscles and utilize the life God has bestowed upon them. It’s one thing to need a helping hand now and then, but to demand that the hand constantly be there is dehumanizing. It robs us of choices, because that helping hand always comes at a steep price, with strings attached.

I am angry at the way our elders, our soldiers, and our children are being treated in this country. People who have worked their entire lives are facing hardships and may soon be denied medical care because some government body is going to make their health decisions. Our soldiers’ sacrifices are disrespected by our government and by people in this country who don’t understand that we have to fight for what we believe in. Our children are being cheated by parents who have no idea how to effectively raise them, then they are sent off to school where they are expected to memorize “facts” about climate change and the liberal agenda. Why aren’t our children being taught how to think for themselves, presented with all sides of the story, and guided towards expressing themselves knowledgably and effectively?

I am sad, I feel duped, and I feel betrayed. Where are all these McCain supporters now? Where are all these angry, betrayed citizens? How can we come together, and figure out how to reclaim what has been taken from us? Our beloved United States of America is being tested in a major transformative way. How will this all look after the dust settles? Who will survive? Could another Civil War be brewing? This time, it’s going to be a lot more complicated since there are many more opposing forces from around the world that are not exactly on our side. Yet, people around the world continue to look towards us to follow their dreams of freedom, to live in peace and to prosper. Are we still that great promise?

Every End is a Beginning

This is a tumultuous time in history. There is more warfare going on than at any other time in my memory. On all of the majorly inhabited continents, opposing forces are hard at work, seeking to restore order as they see it. Every side is working against another--friction, fear, and death are the cries we hear. Polarized nations, civil wars, so much hatred, anger, ignorance, and fear are present.

While technology struggles to stay one step ahead of the curve, there are still masses of people dying of disease and hunger. Though technology reaches many people helping them to live longer lives, it causes a drain on resources as well. How do we change our consciousness in ways that bestows more value on our elders instead of treating them as a burden? In our busy worlds of work where we run around all day like hamsters on a wheel, how does an elder contribute to the world when the body can't quite keep up? And God forbid if the mind goes first. We are then doomed to spend many years locked into an ever-shrinking world. Unbeknownst to us, but painful to our loved ones who have to witness our flashbacks to earlier times that cancel out the other parts of our lives as if we're turning out the lights within each room of ourselves. What do we do with all these people whose lives we are saving?

The end is a beginning. Perhaps that is where we are right now--at a threshold. A big part of me is very sad. I recall more peaceful times when the world was safer and more people died from natural causes than from people killing each other. It's become a place I do not recognize at times--people's lives are stolen from them by greedy, hateful, megalomaniacal, or fanatical leaders, or they sabotage themselves by continued victimization and powerlessness.

What's happened to our values of self-responsibility, decency, respect, and honesty? We are headed for another civil war in this country--there is a divisive force within, threatening to cause class wars and political unrest. The victims of everything and anything will be taken care of by Big Daddy because he promised them he would. Those who have more will be forced to continuously feed those who have less in this bottomless pit of endless needs.

Instead of putting our hand out to receive our hand out, we have to put our hands out to each other. We are rapidly and painfully crashing towards a new world order. There are more people demanding more from our planet's resources. The economy is a force we are unable to tame though we consistently attempt to manipulate it and mess it up to an even greater degree. More people are competing in this global market, resulting in more power struggles and greater chaos.

They say "money makes the world go round" but does it? What power is held in these pieces of colored paper, colored metal discs, and plastic cards? What is this made-up construct of "you give me your energy and I will exchange it for paper with numbers on it that you can use to procure what you need"? What does this mean for us as individuals, and for society to give our life energy for money?

Some people will have more than others, and many of these people achieved more because they were in the right place at the right time and worked hard (luck and preparation). Some peole will have more than others because they came about it dishonestly, or unfairly, trampling on people on their way up. Some people will have less, due to many circumstances out of their control: illness, mental or physical ability, poverty, all play a role. What is immoral is the greed, laziness, or victimhood that is used to bypass the code of human decency in order to "get more".

We have come to a point in history where it's time to grow up. To take responsiblity for ourselves, to treat each other, the world, and our selves, with respect, rather than trying to force things on each other. I am sad about how we have come to treat one another. I'm wondering how this will all resolve. What is the right way to be in the world today? What will survive? What needs to die? How can each of us contribute to this process? How can we be the people we were meant to be? This is our only shot; how do we make it count?

The Road Ahead

As you contemplate your life this time of year, and make the promise to yourself to do better, know that most of us are doing a similar reflection and rededication. Times like this are necessary in life to stop and take stock of where you are going, where you have been, and where you would like to go. Of course, all we can say with certaintude is where we have been. We don't know where we are going. We don't know where the road will take us. We don't know God's plan for us. We can set up expectations and goals and pray for certain outcomes, holding out hope that things will work out in our favor. But we just don't know where we'll end up. How often I have said that something I've experienced is so much better than I ever could have imagined. Or that never in my wildest dreams did I expect to find myself in a certain situation.
What does it take to live a life so open to any and all experiences, that we can just roll with life as it unfolds? Like a surfer on the waves, we react and respond to what comes our way, maintaining balance and calm, using whatever resources we have cultivated for this purpose. As you are contemplating your life this holiday, stop and pause and take stock of all that is good. And where you find yourself lacking, pledge to cultivate whatever seeds are necessary to encourage the growth where you need it to be a more responsive and loving human being.