20060519
    I have recently been told during more than one conversation with more than one group of people that many people believe that there is little or nothing they can do about the current state of affairs both in the US and around the world. While I would like to contest such a contention, I need only to look around me to see that what is being said is true.
    This acceptance is due to the fact that, for the most part, Americans have become some of the most self-centered, apathetic people who have ever existed. While I can safely exclude most of the readers of this weblog from that blanket accusation, the truth is that most people in the US today are more concerned about who is going to win this season of American Idol or whether their favorite team will win the next game than whether there is a problem with illegal immigration or whether Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons.
    This is a severe indictment, I know, but it is an indictment that holds true almost all of the time. The malaise that has settled over America is one that causes the average American to declare, ‘Leave me alone so I can do my thing,’ never once considering the consequences of what being left alone might be. Even I, who try very hard to keep myself informed and active, find myself often succumbing to that same malaise even as I accuse others.
    This is not a state of affairs that can continue if America is to continue to be the great, powerful, and free nation that it somehow remains to be today. If America is to retain its place in the world, Americans, at least enough of them to matter, must start caring about what is going on in their nation and in the world and start working toward a common cause of strengthening this nation and protecting it from the threats that threaten to destroy it.
    I do not come into this debate flinging accusations only, but instead I come with what I believe to be the solutions as well. These solutions must be put into action not only by each individual, but also by families, groups, communities, and by the entire nation if such a thing is possible. The more people who follow through on these solutions, the stronger and more able America will become.
    First, everyone has to believe in something. I’m not talking about such blasé concepts as ‘believing in freedom’ or ‘believing in democracy’. Instead, I am talking about a belief that forms ones spiritual and moral core. One of the greatest disasters that has happened in this nation in the past century is the fact that Americans have stopped believing, and with that lack of belief has come the disintegration of the moral center of this nation. Until Americans return to a core of belief, there will be nothing to tie America together at its core.
    Second, faithful Americans must put service above self. Does this mean that everyone should join the military or serve in public office? I believe so, but realistically, service extends above those high callings. Service may simply be picking up some trash in a parking lot instead of casually passing it by, or it may be as complex as starting a non-profit organization to address some social ill in a community. Whatever the case, service must be something that betters not just the individual, but everyone the individual comes in contact with as a result of that service.
    Third, everyone must participate in the institutions that make America great. That means voting every time the opportunity presents itself. That means potentially joining a political party or political action committee or even starting your own. That means holding the government accountable by refusing to accept the status quo when it is wrong. If even ten percent of Americans became active at the level I am describing, the effect on this nation and the world would be dramatic.
    Fourth, everyone must stay informed. No one can effectively do any of the things I describe above unless they know what is going on in their communities, in their nation, and in the world at large. Staying informed can be as simple as visiting a news website once a day and reading the headlines. Hopefully, such a simple action piques the interest enough to explore that news even deeper, to understand it and how it applies to each one of us. Staying informed is the most powerful way to know what to do next.
    Now, many may read this post and say, ‘When is there time left for the things I want to do?’, and perhaps that is the point. We have sixty or seventy years on this earth, and we were not born in the United States of America for nothing. What will any of us have gained if we know who won American Idol or what the latest score was if the very ideals that allow us to enjoy such things are robbed from us while we indulge? If we care about our nation and our world, such concerns will become secondary to the greater concerns of the greater good.
    And if the greater good becomes our greatest concern, then the strength upon which America was founded will be restored and redoubled. With such resonance, we will have the freedom and the time to enjoy the bounty of this nation, yes even American Idol, but from a position of security and peace secured by action and dedication rather than from a position of weakness brought on by apathy and self-centeredness. I pray that my fellow Americans see this truth for what it is before it is lost.
DLH
Amen.