The following could be applied to many countries I'm sure.
Simple thoughts like "We are our own worst enemy" and "We have met the enemy and he is us" are very meaningful to me. We look for enemies, for other countries to blame for the problems we have within our own borders. Under the guise of patriotism we try to stifle those who identify our problems and want to improve our country.
However, many are like this as individuals. It's always someone else's fault. I don't want an employee who can never admit they make a mistake, nor do I want to be led by someone who can never admit a mistake.
I've always felt one should judge a society by the least among us. Even the poorest country in the world has a few with extreme wealth. Are they blind then to the suffering of others or do they just not care?
There was a time, in many ways falsely, that the US was known as a nation of love and compassion, a fighter for human rights. As I say that wasn't always accurate but at least it seemed to be who we wanted to be if not who we were.
As a child I went to church regularly. My parents were church goers although clearly weren't impacted to actually practice their religion. Still I was proud of the church I went to. It was one of the leaders in our city in setting up an Urban League and a food bank. It was one of the first churches to open up it's doors at night for AA meetings. It welcomed those who were divorced and our minister even married those couples sent by the Catholic Priest whose church didn't allow marrying divorced persons. We were active supporters of a nearby orphanage. We welcomed nurses to be members although they never made it to services due to their jobs in the hospitals. We never turned anyone away at the door as the church believed it was for sinners, not for only those who are perfect (who don't exist). One went to church to try to become better. We never turned anyone away.
I guess that's the same thing I'd like to see in the city in which I live, the county, the state, and the country. Even the world. Every day we should reexamine ourselves and our nation to see if we're doing our best and figure out how to do better. We must open our eyes and look around us.
Simple thoughts like "We are our own worst enemy" and "We have met the enemy and he is us" are very meaningful to me. We look for enemies, for other countries to blame for the problems we have within our own borders. Under the guise of patriotism we try to stifle those who identify our problems and want to improve our country.
However, many are like this as individuals. It's always someone else's fault. I don't want an employee who can never admit they make a mistake, nor do I want to be led by someone who can never admit a mistake.
I've always felt one should judge a society by the least among us. Even the poorest country in the world has a few with extreme wealth. Are they blind then to the suffering of others or do they just not care?
There was a time, in many ways falsely, that the US was known as a nation of love and compassion, a fighter for human rights. As I say that wasn't always accurate but at least it seemed to be who we wanted to be if not who we were.
As a child I went to church regularly. My parents were church goers although clearly weren't impacted to actually practice their religion. Still I was proud of the church I went to. It was one of the leaders in our city in setting up an Urban League and a food bank. It was one of the first churches to open up it's doors at night for AA meetings. It welcomed those who were divorced and our minister even married those couples sent by the Catholic Priest whose church didn't allow marrying divorced persons. We were active supporters of a nearby orphanage. We welcomed nurses to be members although they never made it to services due to their jobs in the hospitals. We never turned anyone away at the door as the church believed it was for sinners, not for only those who are perfect (who don't exist). One went to church to try to become better. We never turned anyone away.
I guess that's the same thing I'd like to see in the city in which I live, the county, the state, and the country. Even the world. Every day we should reexamine ourselves and our nation to see if we're doing our best and figure out how to do better. We must open our eyes and look around us.
