Have We Given Up On America?

I was in Fry’s (a local electronics superstore) and asked the clerk (a young black man) if he was going to vote. He said “Why? They’re both the same. Nothing ever changes…” I was nearly speechless. I told him that he must be willing to let others decide how the world around him will work—or not. He said “It doesn’t matter—things never get any better.” I shook my head as I walked away. I’ll never forget his look of cynicism and hopelessness. I expect he, like many others has given up. It’s not surprising. I’ve lived long enough to witness and vote in many elections; however, I can’t say that I’ve ever seen an election that has so polarized the country. I saw polarization after each of the Bush elections—one that he lost and the second where the country lost—but not this bad. This time, people on both sides say that the world will end if their side loses. If this is true, American is really lost.

I challenge the new President to bring us together as a country—to restore our faith in the American form of government. This will take considerable work on the part of the President and the Congress but even more on our part to keep them all honest and keep their promises. If we don’t succeed, we’re all doomed to repeat the history of the Roman Empire and the representative forms of government that have failed in the past when the citizens lost faith in their elected leaders.