Two Americas
I think there are two Americas. There is the one we see on social media and television and the one we see in person each day. The problem is that the America we see through various media has constant access to influence our opinions. Meanwhile the America we view in person appears less frequently as we replace physical, social interaction with still more social media. It has made us less caring and less civic-minded. We watch television for information and entertainment. The problem is that these two facets of television have become blended without clear delineations. News stories are not prioritized by importance but rather what grabs your attention. This is one reason that many gallons of the worst news is distilled down into the shot glass of information that we quickly ingest each evening. We are drunk on a distortion.
The America I see is not on the television. The America I see takes much longer than a news cycle to understand; it involves observation, communication and work. When I take the time to look, I see helpers. Think of the incredible amount of work it takes to source and organize a food shelf, a humane society or to responsibly distribute funds in order to battle cancer. These are mostly anonymous helpers who work hard for little or no pay. You rarely see their story, so you forget about them and the good they represent. Look at how quickly a group was formed to gather items needed for the victims of recent hurricanes in the southern United States.
America is a place of incredible beauty. This is another place where we lose our perspective. We see commercials that require us to travel to find places of beauty so we can have fun. The truth is that beauty is all around us and requires minimal travel. Some of this beauty requires nothing but your open eyes while some requires that you understand another world. Plants and animals have their own worlds that are incredibly interesting. To understand these worlds is not only enjoyable but it will increase your knowledge and empathy for another culture. Isn’t that the very reason people travel for pleasure?
America is still the world’s lighthouse. This is not because of our monetary strength but because of freedom; we are the world’s most powerful democracy. I remember listening to Gordon Sinclair’s recording of “The Americans” as a little boy fifty years ago. His description of the essence of America is still true and is our greatest treasure and our greatest responsibility. We are the only nation with the combination of leadership, power, alliances and the morality to come alongside most any world situation and positively influence it.
What I do miss is the expectation that we are born with a certain responsibility to make the premise of America work. I was born with the expectation that I would be very well-educated; my soul would find refuge in a church and that I would be expected to be the helper more than be helped. Today, people complain when asked to pay for education as theirs was once paid. I see churches that are barely staying open and are poorly attended. I also see very few people who volunteer to attend board meetings, clean pet cages and raise money for those made poor by cancer. I don’t know what everyone is doing with their time, but I sure hope it is worthwhile.
There seem to me to be two Americas, one real and one contrived for our entertainment. The real America has been damaged by the second one. I think we need to appreciate and support our respected institutions and use our talents for more than just making money. We need to become those good, civic-minded people we once were. We just need to emulate the best of ourselves until we all remember how it is done. It’s time to dig in.preciate small acts today.
All of those little things you do cause ripples over time. The longer the time, the more profound the effect. You get these opportunities to perform tiny gestures fairly often, but they don’t seem worthwhile because of their size. However, with time they can gain a much longer shadow and ripple out beyond any actions seemingly important today but without the required age to show their true consequence.
This Week’s Photo Submissions
Ireland Klasen Trista Lund Pat Hanson Val Truscinski Calvin Huset Marie Cochran
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