Sitting comfortably in our homes enjoying the peaceful presence of our family and friends it is altogether too easy to to forget that there are countless millions living in fear and oppression. Some live in distant lands such as North Korea, Ukraine, China, Eritrea, and Zimbabwe. Others are closer to home: abused children and elders, victims of human trafficking, the poor. Sitting comfortably in our homes we find ourselves distracted by the latest celebrity scandal, the latest hit game, or Facebook. Public discourse is reduced to ten second soundbites and sophistry designed to drive us apart.
The purpose of politics is to unite and not drive us apart. It is how we communicate and reach decisions. Human beings are at their best when they unite around a common cause. For too long, demagogues on both sides of the aisle have hijacked the political process to suit their own ends. Rather than make a logical and persuasive argument for their positions they resort to calling their opponents RINOs, Statists, etc. Politicians, Republicans and Democrats, must now tread carefully or face personal attacks by various factions within their own parties. This has led to dysfunction at all levels of the political process. Such dysfunction only serves to discredit the government and create social instability.
What then, can we do? We must overcome our own personal fear and oppression. We must stop being afraid of the "other" and united face the future unafraid. When we communicate with one another, talking to each other and not at each other, I believe we will find that we have more in common than we now realize. We will be able to end human trafficking, protect the weak, and help the poor. Then we will be able to truly sit comfortably in our homes.
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