Are we circling the drain?

 

In the past 50 years I’ve lived the experience of my country descending from an aware, confident and capable country to a neurotic, divided and self-centered collective of tribal states struggling for local supremacy.  I also believe that all the little power hungry groups that work so hard to create “today’s crisis” are not the true and basic cause of the issues we face as a nation. Black, White, Conservative, Liberal, Atheist, Practicing (fill in your religion), Left, Right, etc. are all labels that reflect what I believe to be the two positions that divide our culture.

 

What divides us as a nation more than anything else are the political, economic and social positions that proclaim that government is either the problem or the answer to all the problems we are struggling to resolve. These days they are usually describes as “Statists” or “Libertarian” and those are labels I can work with. Basically Statists are committed to the position that government is the answer and that anything that is not permitted by law is forbidden. Libertarians on the other hand are firm in their opinion that government is the problem and that if it is not forbidden by law it is permitted.  

 

While these positions might seem to be irreconcilable our system of governance over the past 239 years proves that if reasonable people, regardless of their political position are willing to listen to the other person’s opinion and to negotiate fairly the best possible solution will be arrived at. Our present problem is that, as a society, we have lost the ability to listen and negotiate and find common ground. Driven by liberal and narcissist attitudes and now an attitude adopted by all members of the social order we are a polarized nation.

 

I have concerns about how we can return to the balanced and cooperative society we once were. There is a high probability that whatever the solution(s) might be it will be dissociative and perhaps even violent. I grieve for my children and their children and apologize that as an ancestor I didn’t do a better job in preparing the way for them.