As a kid growing up in the ’60s and ’70s, there were universal values that most everyone understood. Resulting from the horrors of World War II, these values were ingrained not just in Americans’ moral fiber but in people the world over. There were many issues and challenges where most everyone agreed as to what was right and what was wrong. Issues such as slavery, segregation and apartheid are just a couple of examples.
Today, those universal values seem to be disintegrating before our eyes. The reason for that disintegration starts with a lack of leadership. Today, we see immoral and horrifying events taking place in our country, and at the same time, we see most of our political leaders not taking a strong stand on these events, choosing instead to cowardly stand on the sidelines, living in fear they won’t be reelected during the next voting cycle.
Strong and challenging global issues seem to tear us apart now; immigration and the economy are just two examples. When bringing our value system into focus, why can’t our politicians work together and actually listen to one another and come up with reasonable solutions that work for a majority of the people?
The soul of our country and the soul of our world is at stake. Let us sit across from each other in our homes, our churches, our libraries and our governments and calmly and passionately share our ideas and work together to bring about the change that we all yearn for.
Mark Conley
Bayfield