MAYBE WE SHOULD START AMERICA OVER...

*NEWS OPINION ARTICLE*

I’m angry. There’s not a lot of good going on in the world right now. The things I once did to make people feel better, as that is my job both professionally and privately, don’t seem to work. I usually fall back on my faith because that’s where I know I will never have rejection, jeering, or judgement.

I thought the article I wrote the other day on relying on our faith (whichever you prescribe to) to get our country and our world through these tough times-particularly with war and economic crisis, was really steller. Perhaps, it was only a biased opinion. I ran across California Mike’s article today,Do we destroy America to save it?. He was quoted as saying,

“When I heard that the alleged perpetrator was a Muslim, I felt even worse. Even if the killings were just the work of one deranged man, even if they had nothing to do with Islam or terrorism, how could they do anything but make Americans even more leery of the Muslims who live among us?”

I’m horrified and shocked about the killings too-as we all are. It made me realize,too, it wasn’t my article that lacked luster and journalism appeal. It was the fact that so many people would rather read about secular outlets on how to deal with our unified grief in these end times. That’s not a knock on California Mike. I am sure he is superb in his literary efforts. If I had not added my part on faith, I am sure my article would have received the same Internet praise.

That brings me to what angers me. I don’t think everyone should prescribe to what makes me get through these hard times in the world. We are all different and what works for one, doesn’t work for all. But I do think that part of what got our country to where it is at now is because of selfish desire to acquire more and more and to disregard our morals and beliefs, as well as thinking of others before ourselves. We also denounce the value of one’s faith over another’s and disqualify who we think will enter eternity simply because of color,religion, or lifestyle choice. I’m not about to drop everything and join the Islam faith, but I sincerely believe that part of the reason why Maj. Nidal M. Hasan went psychotic was because of the annihilation of those against his faith. Now everyone is scared crapless about discussing their own faith or being involved in anything remotely religious. That’s my observation,at least. Perhaps I hit a sore nerve with my previous article!

It comes with heavy hearts only AFTER a massacre that events come to light about warning signs and red flags about homicidal behaviors. While we can’t over react to every strange behavior or believe everyone is going to blow, Muslim or not, there are interventions to prevent tragedies from snowballing. Indeed, a few simple interventions could have snuffed out problems with Maj. Nidal M. Hasan. Or, these interventions could have unearthed training issues that should have changed in the future.

Instead of learning from our past with the segregation of blacks, we have just fallen into the slippery, irrevocable bottomless pit of hatred and racism with Muslims. It’s history repeating itself. All the pomp and circumstance of investigating this tragedy is just going to lead to one obvious and expected result: our country has a lot of unresolved hatred, we have to blame someone for all the problems; the problems are easier to blame on a minority of some kind; we are at war with the Middle East; we must blame the Middle Easterns!

While it’s true one Middle Eastern person did claim a slew of lives at Ft. Hood and a handful of Middle Eastern people did blow up our planes into the World Trade Center,that’s not indicative of what the whole race is capable of. We are too focused in the media, on All Voices, and in our private lives on what a rotten and deplorable race they are. Indeed, some of them have done some pretty remarkeable things to us that should gain our attention and require us to educate ourselves about them.

What have we gained as a country if we go around blaming every “race of the times” for all the problems in the world? What will it bring us but more popularity among our fellow aqaintences? Do we really want to go the path well driven for the sake of not provoking someone to argue with us? Sadly, I don’t see our country, the one I was proud to be a citizen of, as changing their beliefs and direction.We are mere cattle following the other cattle to the slaughter house. We are ignorant and dumb, which is the byproduct of racism and hate. We will surely plummet into history and fail as a society if we continue to blame other people, particularly other races, for our problems!

I welcome your thoughts on this subject!