My generation inherited a country that had a really good idea of what it was internationally and a really messed up idea of what we were at home. We were great at cleaning up everyone else’s mess but it took way too long before we did the housekeeping at home.
Today, we are at a new crossroads. We have so many issues at home and so many responsibilities abroad. Unfortunately, nation-states can’t chuck it all and move to Mexico. Well, we could but Mexico wouldn’t like it very much. Still, it would be nice to just forget everything and sip cocktails on the beach.
But that’s not the way this works. We Americans are rightfully proud of our Government by the People. But we can’t hire out the part where we actually steer this government of ours like hiring someone to do the lawn. When we try it we get the guy that thinks lawn care starts with a healthy dose of Round Up on every green thing in sight. In other words, that’s what got us in this mess in the first place.
Thing is, we haven’t yet decided where the heck we want to go. We like being the most powerful nation on Earth but we don’t like the responsibility that comes with it. We don’t like letting the weirdo neighbors run the planet and that pretty much leaves us at the moment. We like all those freedoms in the Bill of Rights but aren’t too crazy about them applying to everyone at times. We don’t like letting the crazies run the asylum but we’re not sure we want to do the work to straighten it all out.
Good news – we’ll never get it all straightened out. We’ll leave a mess for our kids so they can leave one for theirs. That’s just the nature of a world with more than two people and not nearly enough room for everyone to be a hermit. But we do have to tidy up the place while we’re here.
The first step is deciding just what we want America to be – what kind of America will we leave our kids? Do we want to be the world’s policeman still? If not, how do we quit without making a really big mess? Do we want to live in a country where there are no rules and anything goes? If so, how do we do that without making the country into a hell on Earth?
Sure, conservatives and liberals will have different priorities – that’s okay. There’s this really old fashioned thing that can help: talk politely to each other. Less yelling, more talking. Less pretending to listen, more really understanding the other guy, especially when we don’t agree. More information, less news. The corporate media isn’t getting that job done. Jerks on YouTube aren’t an improvement. Snarky old ladies like me aren’t the answer if that’s all you listen to – but there are a ton of good folks out there. They are all over social media. Sure, you have to wade through the jerks – what else is new?
It’s the easiest and hardest thing to do – talk to folks. Find out what they are concerned about and tell them what concerns you. We can’t have a national conversation if we can’t even talk to each other over the fence or a cup of coffee.
No secret, I’m a conservative. I’m smart enough to know how dumb I am – no human being has all the answers, especially not me. Conservatives don’t have all the answers – so what? Neither do liberals. We won’t find all the answers anyway – so quit worrying about the impossible and let’s find the answers we CAN get. Let’s talk to each other.
It starts small. It isn’t easy. But the future of the United States of America isn’t decided in Washington DC. It’s decided in every town, big or small, around every table, with a lot or a few. It’s decided long before we pull the lever. It’s decided by us.
Just talking. Just a little conversation. Ideas are like seeds: they spread like wildfire. Talking them out helps us decide which ones to plant and which to uproot. And as those seeds grow, they fill the public garden. A little conversation around the dinner table becomes a national conversation around the flag.
So, tell me, what kind of America do you want to plant for your kids?
