The Division of America

I, like you, continue to read magazines, newspapers and listen to news about one event or another where people remain divided. Where is this division? While it is true that some are still racist or sexist, in this age that number is infinitely small. So why are these rare instances broadcast so far and wide? Today's America is filled with teams of men and women, black and white, straight and gay that work well together and are friends. In both professional and personal relationships, the lines of division have been erased. If the aim of our leaders and media was to unite the country, then why is the focus on the few bad apples and incidents?

The original message of leaders such as Lincoln, Kennedy and King are being twisted and turned into a nearly unrecognizable heap. Martin Luther King, for instance, was not preaching about the rise of black power, he was preaching about the rise of unity. There is no reason for Americans to be divided on insignificant issues such as race and sex, music, clothes and so on. When we celebrate different heroes like King, we must ignore the media's efforts to make it a black or white thing and focus on what it really is - a human thing.

As I see such broadcasts, I am reminded of Clinton's exploits in the oval office. The media charged Clinton with: "bringing inappropriate behavior into the homes of children". Bill didn't do that - the media did. He wasn't parading about in Time Square, he was behind locked doors. The invasion into our living rooms was driven by Lewinsky's need for fame and the media's love of airing dirty laundry.

A divided people or army is easier to defeat than a united one. So long as we continue our in-fighting, we can not get to the task at hand. That task is focusing on the corruption in this country and correcting it. A population united in a common cause is an awesome force to reckon with. We have displayed this as a nation many times in our history. We are easily and commonly united against foreign enemies and America has never had a shortage of wars to fight. If this same resolve could be achieved in fighting political and corporate corruption, imagine what we could achieve.

The next time your favorite news program or magazine broadcasts or prints anything that casts a bad light on unity, write them and write their sponsors and tell them you will boycott their programs and products. When the hundreds of millions of us that are not full of hate react to their efforts, we can promote change. If you need further inspiration, consider this: all the popular figures in our history that have truly proclaimed unity and attempted to bring this nation together, as one people, have all been assassinated. A collection of different races, sexes and roles have shared the same message and the same fate. Although the finger on the trigger may have been different in each case, the pattern is there nonetheless. Those that wish to keep us divided and easily managed can kill some of our leaders but they can not kill us all.

Stop supporting those that keep the fires stoked. Stop listening to stories of the few and judging the many. Stop allowing yourself to be classified into categories. Be an American, be a human being and be part of the solution not the problem.