Divided

cause to move or be apart.

separate

Three Statements. Three thoughts.

First Statement: I’m beginning to feel like Winston Smith, George Orwell’s main character in his 1949 book entitled, 1984.

Thought: I refer to Winston, not because our government is totalitarian – thankfully, it’s not, but because much of our national media is. I believe our country would never allow itself to dip its toes into the cold water of socialism or totalitarianism; our country would revolt. Still, as a society, we’ve allowed our national media to dive into the deep waters of personal agenda and monolithic reasoning without even the appearance of a lifeguard.

Our media’s daily attempt to pass off doublespeak, newspeak, and doublethink as newsworthy and credible forms of journalism is not so secretly destroying and dividing our country. Much of our media has become O’Brien, telling us each day that 2+2=5. They continually marginalize and dismiss the views they disagree with instead of reporting the news in an unbiased and unfiltered fashion. The once purveyors of journalist integrity and trustworthiness is a thing of the past where most media is concerned. Cable news will do what cable news does, I get that, but our once trusted national broadcast news outlets have become more of an op-ed platform than a consistent source of credible information.

The days of Walter Cronkite are long gone, never to return.

Our new media’s agenda is to be the official gatekeepers of groupthink. Today, and for some time, questions asked of our leaders are, in most instances, statements positioned as queries; rarely are they a dignified solicitation for answers and understanding.

The Misinformation Society

“An annual survey of public trust in mass media by Gallup found that just 41% of Americans in 2019 had a ‘great deal’ or ‘fair amount’ of trust in forms of media such as newspapers, television, and radio to report the news fully, accurately and fairly.”

Since 2006, Gallup reports a majority of Americans have journeyed past trusting the press, with the average percentage of individuals relying on the media to be trustworthy “hovering in the low 40s.” It is interesting to note that much of our distrust as a country extends through the past three presidents.

Hopefully, our news will become less arrogant and more accountable, and begin the process of redemption with the elimination of the cowardly “indifference toward presenting the news in a full, accurate and fair manner.”

This my hope.

Second Statement: I do not know one family member, friend, Co-worker, acquaintance, or Facebook person/friend that could run our country, state, or our health agencies with any degree of success.

Not one.

Thought: I love my Dad; I do so with all my heart. He is a smart man, but he would have no chance of leading our country during our current crisis, or during any disaster for that matter.

He would wisely agree.

My mother and wife are wonderful, I too love them with all my heart, but neither could speak with any authority if our President called them this afternoon. I would make a fool of myself if the Governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, or our Director of Health, Dr. Amy Acton, called me for advice. Not one person I know could do any better than stammer and stumble if given a chance to opine. And for those overconfident and arrogant individuals, if allowed to comment, would be ridiculed on every nightly talk show, and on every social media platform for attempting to act knowledgable, intelligent, and well informed.

If any of these groups of people I just mentioned, invited to be an integral part of a national press conference, would embarrass themselves. But yet, everyone sits at their computer like a Monday morning quarterback telling everyone what should & should not take place. The arrogant criticism that is given so freely towards our countries business, health, and government leaders is amazing – I’m sorry – embarrassing. The reason why a person is referred to as Monday morning QB’s is because they don’t play on Sundays.

And they never will get play on Sundays.

Never.

Some have suggested I cultivate a larger circle of acquaintances. That might be true, though I believe the many relationships I entertain meet the definition of diverse, yet that is not my point. I realize with every leader we have, there is likely a more competent, qualified, and capable candidate for the position, but we have to support those who are leading now.

Unfortunately, we’ve lost our ability to do so. Over time we’ve become a nation of critics. A country of poor critics at best.

The criticism of the average US citizen is almost always destructive, rarely constructive. The truth is, people have become so blinded by their hatred and negative thoughts that they have lost the capacity to be reasonable and rational. Those who on social media continually judge our leaders unfairly could not do any better if given the opportunity. Not one. That is my point.

And let me be clear, I believe each of us has the right to raise our voices and constructively criticize those in charge, it’s imperative we do so as a democratic society. But that isn’t our reality, ‘we’ don’t pursue constructively denouncing our government and non-government officials anymore. Instead, we choose to blister, clobber, and excoriate those we’ve elected and the countless men and women who lead our countries biggest enterprises.

It has become a blood sport for many.

Our commentary is rarely constructive and seldom offers a reasonable or realistic solution. Often the typical outcome is angry exchanges; hateful offerings that provide little remedy for our collective ills. Far too many souls expect perfection from their leaders and accept mediocrity in their own lives. If we held ourselves to the same standard we do for those we despise; our feet wouldn’t reach the ground in the morning.

We couldn’t get out of bed.

Many find it their duty to continually tear down those in charge, who can’t sleep at night without committing to a full day of complaining. I would say to those enlightened souls until you run something, do something that impacts millions of people, you would do well to seek a tad bit of humility, coupled with fewer words. It’s important to note that my comments shouldn’t be taken as a mean-spirited refrain; my words are just a suggestion, a challenge. I believe we can do better.

Still, I’m amazed by how awful we treat our “leaders.”

Our 52 “elected” Presidents

No matter who is leading our great country, we struggle to be fair with our criticism and support. Whether it be President Reagan, President George H.W. Bush, President Clinton, President George W. Bush, President Obama, or President Trump, we continually demean our leaders while simultaneously deeming ourselves the smartest people in the room. All the clever, cynical one-liners, the attacking and sarcastic comments towards any leader that thinks differently – on the “other” team – and all of the other short-sighted commentary do absolutely nothing to better our countries situation.

Nothing.

We rarely contemplate before speaking, choosing only to complain, chastise, and condemn what we don’t like or appreciate. I didn’t receive the memo stating that our leaders are supposed to do everything I want. Who knew? The unfortunate truth is far too many people judge those they don’t like by emphasizing a person’s worst characteristics and behavior, and championing others by eliminating their noticeable faults and actions, and celebrating their good and noble traits. It’s true, but unfortunate, we only see what we want to see; hear what we want to hear.

Sadly, we treat our leaders like travel and high school coaches. Everyone in the stands thinks they know better, could do better, but has never coached for any length of time to prove otherwise. 95% of the people in sitting the bleachers have no idea what to do in the last 2 minutes of a basketball or football game, or the final inning of a baseball game, with two on and two out, not a clue.

It goes without saying, “all” of our leaders can and will act poorly, behave horribly, and fail miserably, but that doesn’t give us the license to belittle regularly those who lead. It’s counterproductive and travels a short distance in helping our country. I understand the anger of many, but I’m going to rest my head on my mom’s shoulders, and go with her directive: “model the behavior you’d like to see son, not the behavior you despise.” It’s important to remember, our leaders are human.

On behalf of the leaders of our country, states, our health and medical industries, our businesses, and our CEO’s, thank you for leading. I’m not seeking perfection, just fairness, an open mind, and great effort. The job is yours, for now, I wish you nothing but the best, and I hope you do well by as many people as humanely possibly.

On April 23, 1910, Theodore Roosevelt said it best:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Final statement and thought: I’ve come to appreciate and enjoy yoga.

The daily routine of stretching has been tremendous for my body. The intentional act of gratitude and the celebration of quieting my spirit and body has proved to be valuable. Many times, as a yoga session comes to an end, you might hear the Sanskrit term, namaste. “Namaste is a traditional greeting used in India and is often spoken with a corresponding gesture. This gesture is performed with the hands pressed together against the chest, palms facing one another, the head slightly bowed.”

My fascination with the term began when I realized the humbling power of this act. Often, when we start to identify with the meaning, we begin to see it’s force. “Nama” means bow, “as” means I, and “te” means you.

Therefore, namaste literally means,” I bow to you,” and the practice carries with it the sincerest form of respect. The gesture itself represents the belief of a ‘Divine spark” that resides within each of us. “The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another.”

Namaste

What a beautiful, redeeming, and powerful thought and gesture.

Sadly, we, as a culture, do not embrace the beauty of that term, or its meaning. We no longer value the practice of displaying consistent respect for one another, nor do we seek to discover the “Divine spark” in our fellowman.

Personally, my spark is Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit that resides in me. I don’t think I have to share with you the media’s view of my belief. Maybe they are correct to think as they do with the countless examples of poorly displayed Christianity.

I know I’m guilty as charged.

Unfortunately, too many of us have decided to ignore the soul of the person next to us. We’ve chosen to journey with only those that believe in the same manner, entertain like-minded thoughts and pursue similar agendas. It’s a dangerous path to only value those who believe and think as you do.

Extremely dangerous.

In the end, I might have offered too many statements and not enough thought; maybe I provided no statements at all and a bunch of mindless ideas. To borrow from Churchill, maybe my words were a weak statement, wrapped in thought inside a belief. Whatever it might be, I sincerely apologize if I missed the mark I set out to hit. Still, the point I was attempting to make is I believe the reason for our separation as a country has less to do with our leaders, and their faults and failures, and more with how we view one another.

And even with my distrust of the press, I’m not ready to cast full blame on them for our division and demise. The real reason for our separation as society is because we don’t value one another. Relating well with others who think differently is sadly of no importance. Many times we don’t value ourselves either, making it easier to condemn, criticize everything we see and hear.

We don’t make allowances for differences; no longer do we collectively embrace the diversity of thought or belief.

We’ve eliminated seeking to understand before seeking to be understood. We talk as if we have two mouths and one ear. Many of us have become a God unto ourselves. Our narcissism has betrayed us and caused many to believe they’re the judge, the jury, the defendant, and the prosecutor. We’ve successfully made ourselves the final authority on all things but hatefully demonized those next to us with the same traits. Many of us have become hypocrites but are too narcissistic to recognize. No longer do we acknowledge or bow to phenomenal truth that we were all created equal with incredible gifts and talents.

We’re failing, falling, and know one cares.

Sadly, if my words bare a shred of truth, our ability to ever get behind our leaders, now or in the future, is in great peril. The feat seems almost impossible, but I will admit, I was naive. I honestly thought we were all in this together, capable of pursuing a common goal with decency and admiration, putting aside our differences for the greater good.

I thought our current crisis was the ultimate “WE” over me?

In the end, I sincerely hope I was correct in my assumption. I hope we will eventually find our way as a country and begin to criticize less, support more, realizing we’re all on the same team. If we want to make it to the other side, I’m not sure we have any other choice. If not, we might be separated forever. My prayer is for us to be blessed with enough time to get it right. ||. 2400

sbb 4.26.20