Dropping in and out of family and friend celebrations of our nation's birth over the long holiday weekend, and as we enter the 250th year of this 'great experiment,' I am troubled by the tension and at times outright hostility which exists among us.
America still leads the world economy, is one of three superpowers and debatably the strongest military power. Without listing the foreign fields of war where we are peripherally involved, we have plenty of enemies from without, and it seems to me that some of them have figured out how to foment, grow and fertilize enemies from within.
I witnessed, and occasionally intervened in discussions over topics ranging from the Trump administration's "Big Beautiful Bill," to America stepping away from supporting Israel to a deep dive into the pond of socialism as a 'better choice' for modern America. Everyone is of course entitled to their own views and opinions.
But when did that translate into yelling at each other, treating an opposing viewpoint as 'enemy propaganda' or simply no longer speaking? Yes, social media and the fading credibility of many legacy media outlets has contributed to this, as has the loss of common trusted sources.
America may have largely not supported the war in Vietnam, but we generally believed the reporting from that war front brought to us each night by Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, Roger Mudd, and the like... Even in the early days of CNN during the first Persian Gulf War, their reporting was accepted as fact, and not viewed through the lens or prism of political lean or bias.
More than casually observing the political scene in Washington, D.C. as well as under Georgia's Gold Dome and more recently many a City Hall or County Courthouse, disagreements and divisions have become more tribal. An opposing viewpoint is spoken by 'the enemy'...we now go to 'war' over Pickleball courts and holiday fireworks. These are definitely First World problems.
As I think many prior columns have made clear, while I support many of the stated policy directions of the Trump Administration, I am deeply troubled by the manner and bullying tactics of our Commander In Chief. I much prefer the Teddy Roosevelt version of world leadership by speaking softly while still carrying a Big Stick.
I have high school and college classmates who will no longer speak to me, accusing me of Trump Derangement Syndrome or being a Lib-tard...a word I find patently offensive on so many levels it would require a whole separate column to explain. While I was volunteering for Ronald Reagan in 1980, and helping to elect some of the leaders that built Georgia's GOP, many of these same folks were lifelong Democrats.
Both national parties have shifted to their own extremes, but that doesn't mean neighbors need to treat each other like a hostile border nation due to differences of opinion in who best should occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, or if Blue or Red should be the dominant political color in a nation whose colors are still Red, White & Blue...among others.
The last time I felt America united was in the aftermath and months following 9/11. We made some flawed choices, and are still paying prices for a few of those today, but we collectively dug ourselves out of that recession, rebuilt the World Trade Center complex and Pentagon and moved forward, perhaps stronger and smarter than we were before those attacks.
There will be another attack from without...I suspect the next big one will take out our power grid and communications systems, or damage our water supplies and major utilities. We will again need to come together and set aside petty differences of opinion, taste and cultures.
We will again need to be a melting pot, finding strength in our diversity of cultures and opinions. United we stand, divided we fall...making daily choices towards the latter is not good for any of us in the long term. Start today by sending a note or placing a call to that longtime member or family member, about what you know is a growing divide.
Simply state..."I am sorry if I got carried away in our last discussion regarding _______. Our family/friendship/community and relationship means more to me than that. I respect your opinion, I hope you can respect mine. Let's hit the reset button and put this behind us.
Try it out and let me know how things go. God bless America, as well as you and yours.
