Volume 46 - No. 44
November 10, 2016
by Freidrich Gomez
Is America falling apart? Are we, as a nation of people, experiencing an era of great decline? This is a most disturbing notion that moves us out of our ‘comfort zone.’ Often it moves us into the arena of anger or, perhaps, even self-denial of what is happening across America today -the random violence, civil unrest, police shootings and fatalities, on both sides. The bloodshed of both law enforcement and citizens.
Black correspondent, Jamelle Bouie, writes: “A week that began with Americans celebrating their best qualities has ended with the country staring into the eyes of its worst self.”
White columnist, Colin Nelson, posted: “Is America Falling Apart?” Then, wrote a most sad commentary of a country that seems to be sagging at its knees. 74% of all Americans polled strongly believe our country is in great decline. According to The Washington Times, “Many voters reveal they have a gnawing fear that the America they know and revere is slipping away, along with civility and civic engagement.”
Regardless of race, ethnicity, cultural persuasion, political leanings, and religious backgrounds, there seems to be a common meeting point that all is not well. For one of the few times in a multi-cultural scenario, there seems to be no division of thinking, no color barrier, no religious affiliations, that disagrees with the severity of concern that our country is now facing. All rational minds comprehend that there is a powder-keg of a problem in our beautiful country. And even during the intervening moments of calm and quiet, therein rests a coiled spring ready to, again, snap in unpredictable, often deadly, fashion. It has happened countless times before and it will most assuredly happen again. It is only a matter of time.
Various polls appear to show that the majority of Americans today strongly believe that their American culture is deteriorating. On top of that, many citizens clearly feel alienated and helpless in trying to salvage their own country’s values, honesty, and respect. Researchers found that most Americans feel powerless and frustrated because -- in their own opinions -- their elected politicians, repeatedly let them down once they attained office. Mark Twain made the observation that still stands the test of time, “Have you noticed that no The Paper - 760.747.7119
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matter who we elect, they are just as bad as the one they replaced?”
Such polls strongly suggest that more Americans not only distrust our political leaders to represent our best interests but, many do not believe that the U. S. Government truly cares and understands the problems Americans face today. American comedian, Groucho Marx, said it long ago, “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.” If it is true what the ancient philosophers strongly believed – that comedy and tragedy in life are often inextricably one -- then the prior statements of Mark Twain and Groucho Marx hold fast and true in our country today. Obituaries Memorials Area Services Page 12
That America faces grave social problems is beyond question, at least to the rational mind. Where there is a division of thinking lies at the core of the problem: what is the cause or causes behind our growing civil unrest, from coast to coast? In essence, what are the reasons behind our socio-political-racial-moral-economic frustrations that are leading us all down a path of widespread rebellion, random police assassinations, and unleashed anger that refuses to remain bottled-up? Therein lies the fundamental problem – why is this happening? We define it in different ways. We define different causes and, therefore, different solutions and so, in the end, there is no reconciliation which is agreeable to all. Past episodes have taught us as much. Each time there
is civil unrest, racial disturbance, or police shootings, liberty and equality under the law is viewed through different eyes resulting in a deadly clash of ideologies.
Over 150 years ago, Abraham Lincoln once said a fundamental truth that refuses to evaporate with the passage of time; instead, it eerily fits our current cultural dilemma like a Biblical prophecy: “The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty, and the American people, just now, are much in want of one. We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing.”
And so it is today. Finger-pointing and post police-shooting-evaluations, for example, all define liberty and right-from-wrong-behavior in diametrically opposed definitions. As
Is America Falling Apart? Continued on Page 2