The beauty of America lies in its diversity.  We are a melting pot.  A stew of sorts.  And we are all in this same stew together!  It is not helpful to think of Americans as discreetly different groups. We are different and have differences, but we also share commonalities.   We are more together than we are as individuals.   We may value our independence and our rights, but these are best enjoyed within a framework of cooperation and brotherhood.

     Why then is there such an effort lately to focus on our differences?  The spotlight seems to be on how to divide us.  Are we black? Are we white?  Are we rich or poor?  White collar or blue?  City or rural?   America is in danger of being lost. We are not lost in the way “Columbus” once was lost. We have a GPS location. But lost we are, none the less. We have lost our way.  We have forgotten who we are.  We have forgotten that in becoming a blended nation of many different ethnicities, we do need to lay down some of our autonomy in order to get along with our brothers and sisters.  What family does not have squabbles and fights.  But they also protect and care for each other against common enemies.  An enemy of  one is an enemy of all.  If you hurt one part, you hurt the whole.  We are not black or white or rich or poor.  We are American!

     There is so much that is good in America!  Yes, we have “family” problems and room for improvement.  But somehow we have forgotten we ARE family!  If you live in the United States, you drive the same roads and breathe the same air and listen to the same news that I do.  My skin may be a different color.  I may be taller, poorer, more or less intelligent than you…..but plop us both down in Yellowstone on the same day and we would enjoy the same beautiful God-given views of OUR national park.

     This is OUR country.  The citizens killed are OUR citizens.  The police killed are OUR police.  There are Americans of every ethnicity, social background, and religious persuasion.  These differences make us rich   They should not be what divides us.  They DON’T divide most of us.  Most of us have a friend whose skin color is different from ours.  Most of us work side by side with someone who holds a different life philosophy or religious belief.  Most of us shop at stores with others who have  much more (or less) in their wallets.  We share more than what divides us.  It is just that we are being encouraged to focus on what divides us!

     We need to focus on what we have in common.  Then we will care more.  Then we will have a greater ability to hear what others are saying and feel what they are feeling.    We will hurt more when our neighbor hurts.   It won’t be us and them  It will be JUST US.

     Right now neither political party gets it.  Our politicians thrive on division. They want you on one side of a fence or another.  You have a choice between Republican and Democrat, when in reality most Americans are not squarely in either camp.  Both sides have a little right and a lot wrong.  BOTH SIDES AREN’T LISTENING!

     We are a melting pot.  That is why we are such a delicious and wonderful country.  I am not meat and you a  potato.  We are all in the same stew together!  Let us remember to care for each other and stop letting others poison us.  Enough already!  We all need to quit trying just to get our opinions across and need to start trying to listen  to what others are saying when they disagree.  We may not change our mind but at least we may begin to understand another family member’s  point of  view.