By the Side of the Road

The citizens of the United States are trapped. Trapped by the decisions that others have made, decisions they have made and by circumstance. Whether these things are changeable has yet to be determined.

We have allowed ourselves to become polarized ... to be confused ... to follow shiny things into dark corners where the light that once shone from them is extinguished. And, now, in the fading light, we search for ways back into the light ... only to find that the path has been swept away.

It is incumbent for us to continue searching ... to find a way to reconnect with who we might have been before we became so lost. Lost to ourselves, fighting for breadcrumbs with our neighbors ... our families ... our fellow human beings.

We have hoped for others to have vision of a future that includes us ... but does that future exclude others? Who are those others that we willingly leave behind? What makes them different? What makes them not a part of our "tribe"? Why are their roots less valuable than our own?

As children, we are taught to like ... if it is familiar, we presume to "like" it. It makes it "like" us. People like me ... are only people like me. Or, is it that we only like people like ourselves? We are drawn to the ones who we feel a connection with and for ... and turn away from those who seem different. Is it because we are threatened by differences ... or that to accept someone different will change us and make us no longer like those who we believe to be in our "tribe"?

Today's world offers so many ways to only connect with others "like" us. Those who have similar interests and goals ... and to avoid the messy realities of those who are different. Where there are conflicts and discussions of things that discomfort our beings.

And, so, we continue to only reach out and talk with and share our lives with those "like" us ... for we "like" them. We can tell ourselves that we don't like the others ... we can label them with negative words that are similar to spells cast by witches of old. With these labels, we can identify them as evil beings with insidious desires for our world ... the destruction of what we care about and what and with whom we identify.

It is so easy, in today's world, to feel powerless. All you need do is read the headlines on any newsfeed. Death, hate, loss ... and everyone performs some ritual ... hoping that these horrible fates will not befall us and ours. We gather with others ... or send out appeals for others to join in those hopes and prayers ... kind thoughts ... crowdfunding to offset losses - either real or foreseen.

What is missing is the understanding that we are all in this together. That no matter what "tribe" you believe you are in ... that tribe is only a small part ... and it separates you from the world. Not keeping you safe, but endangering you from the realization that nothing can spare you from the ill winds that buffet the world.

The world is a very large or small space - depending on your view. We, in our little tribes, can contribute to its pollution and destruction or we can, as a whole, contribute to its continuation.

The answer is simple ... we are all in this together and we must not allow those shiny distractions to carry us to those dark places. We must join together to become a force of good for the future of mankind and the world.