There is a difference between being committed to your beliefs and being committed to a political party or organization. Are your beliefs derived from your heart? Do you believe that there are fundamental values and principles that do not change over the course of history; and do you wish to preserve these principles? If so, that does not mean that you are adverse to change, quite the contrary; you are a person who wants to conserve these values but one who also welcomes change with an adherence to morality and respect to one another’s differences.
The president we elect (yes this was written post Election Day) should represent the core values and beliefs of our blessed country, a unified people with common goals. We all desire peace and unity, but the question is: What are your thoughts and ideas of how to achieve this and what will you do to help achieve peace and unity? We must decide now which road we want to travel down, the path…
…of least resistance: one that consists solely of complaints and blame for our problems and one of ignorance and complacency; or the road less traveled: one that involves action and a genuine concern for each other and our country, and the world’s well being. This can only be achieved from taking an honest moral inventory of our personal selves, who we are, and what we believe in and by communicating those beliefs respectfully to one another.
If we don’t give serious consideration to what our beliefs are and discuss our differing opinions with the intention of reaching a common ground to benefit our citizens, we will remain a divided country. This means that all those “controversial” topics that are uncomfortable to talk about need to be addressed in a candid and honest manner. Why not bring a panel of “experts” around a table to openly discuss the benefits of capitalism vs. socialism as did our Founding Fathers? Why not bring a panel of doctors and theologians from every religion around a table to discuss the ethics of abortion?
We need to determine who we are as Americans – on the inside, not the outside. The color of our skin does not determine who we are; our skin is an exterior shell that houses our minds, hearts and souls. Our president is not only black, he is black and white, birthed by a white mother and raised by a white mother and grandparents. But what does this mean? In all honesty it means nothing. Just because we have a black/white president does it mean we are unified in our beliefs? Unfortunately, I think not. It does mean we have become more accepting and are willing to overlook one another’s differences in color, which is great progress, but we have a lot more work to do. The choice is yours, thanks to those who have voluntarily fought and died for our freedom, we have the freedom to decide as individuals the lives we wish to lead. Let us ask ourselves: What kind of life will it be? Will we remain inactive and blissfully ignorant or will we leave our comfort zone and risk putting our beliefs on the table and honestly communicating to one another from our hearts.
Whatever choice you make, a choice should be made because remaining neutral is actually a disguised choice to accept elusiveness and will contribute to the deterioration of the principles this country was founded on and as a result to our own demise. Our Founding Fathers may not have had an African American representative, but that does not mean they didn’t have wise ideas; it just means that the African Americans were not here yet. Now that we’re all here, let us strengthen our faith in this country and our trust for one another. In the noble words of Elie Wiesel subsequent to the effects of the Holocaust:
“No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has emerged from the kingdom of night. We know that every moment is a moment of grace, every hour an offering; not to share them would mean to betray them. Our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need us desperately…And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
