New Year Hopes

Today is the last day of 2009- actually, it's already 2010 in several countries around the world. I have a dream. A dream for everyone: that tomorrow would dawn with a new awakening of truth.

Last night, Sean Hannity held a forum on Fox News with several survivors of the victims of 9-11-01. One of them stated that he was angry with the President because he felt that he had aided and abetted the enemy by schmoozing with countries that obviously hated us. When Sean asked the other if they agreed, every one of them with only one exception raised their hands. It was a scenario that sent shivers up my spine.

The Civil War in America was fought, not just over slavery - did you know that? It was fought also because of some disparities of economics between the North and the South. A vicious division had taken place in the country. Slavery was one central issue, but economics was another. The division and polarization was fed by politicians and others until it became impossible to reconcile-- and it ended in war. A costly war that destroyed familes, cities, and left a nation reeling for years.

The polarization I see in America today is frightening.One side wants socialism, marxism, communism to "fix" the problems in America-- I've been to those countries during the cold war, and saw the same disparity between economic classes that led to the civil war. I also saw no environmental cleanliness, no "redistribution of wealth", no utopia of any sort. In fact, the fat cats kept their power and their money and "redistributed" it into their own pockets. The air was foul, the country was filthy, and the people had no hope. But our leadership doesn't seem to have any knowledge of those failures.

The other side has become hard and as entrenched as the left. The anger is deep and immovable in right side politicians. Please, my friends, remember that there are real people involved in the issues. It's not a generic ideology -- it's about the real people of America.

And the American people are becoming angry as well! They are not being heard, they are being targeted for their beliefs and opinions, and their elected officials by and large ignore them. This is a recipe for a drastic division -- and it could lead to a catastrophe. From Tea Parties to higher taxes, America is in trouble, and not just from terrorists. It has turned on itself.


If I have a hope for 2010, it's that by some Divine Intervention, people will start to work towards a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. A government that acknowledges that its Judeo-Christian roots are what gave us the absolute best nation in the world to live in. That we will stop pointing fingers at one another and start fighting the right enemy. That we will stop beating on people who have fallen, and help them back up. We aren't cannibals, but we act like cannibals. Whether or not the climate is changing in irrelevant- our stewardship of the environment must be balanced, not headlong stupid into actions which have destructive consequences.

May 2010 be a year of truth- and may our response to truth be productive, filled with compassion for others, and rife with wisdom.