America Will Always Be a Work In Progress

We are in a low spot in American history – a nation divided and decidedly lost. We still haven’t found a way to work together for the common good.

I’ll say it again – Country First…

Oh sure – we’ve been here before. We couldn’t have been more divided than we were during the American Civil War 161 years ago. No American war was more deadly than the war between the states with 1.2 million dead. This makes the American Civil War the deadliest to date. Not all were killed in combat, but also from disease, and those who died in captivity.

All this chatter about “civil war” in these unsettled times is spoken by those who don’t understand the cost of civil war. It gets darned bloody and people die. Were you able to ask anyone who participated in the Civil War what it was like and what it accomplished, they would likely tell you it wasn’t worth what it cost in human toll. America learned from the Civil War to work hard at peacefully settling our differences.

We still have a long way to go because the Civil War’s cost and toll are long forgotten. However, we still understand the cost of war in our war dead and wounded in 2024. All the wars foreign and domestic since 1776 plus World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, and undoubtedly conflicts now in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The war-wounded walk among us. They can cite for you what combat is like – if they can even talk about it.

It seems mankind can’t find a way to live together peacefully with an eye on love and respect for others. Egos start wars as do simple differences of opinion and misunderstandings. The late George Carlin, a great satirist and comedian, spoke of America’s history of war. He defined us as a war-loving nation. Our very economy has thrived on it and so has our desire for world dominance.

I will say this cautiously. Well-grounded women make better leaders and this has been proven continuously around the world. We’ve missed two opportunities to elect women in recent times. Not everyone will agree with this and that’s okay. Women – who give life – are less inclined to start wars. They are less interested in having huge amounts of real estate. They’re more interested in peace than men who perpetually want more land and power – and will do anything to have it.

It’s an ego thing…

Personally, I am more interested in perpetual peace. Not everyone will get along and there will always be differences of opinion. However, self-control is more in order – knowing how to contain anger and frustration. I will tell you I am not a patient person. Self-control comes from cognitive therapy and practicing what you learn from it. It is more easily learned than practiced. Add to that the personalities of some 7 billion human lives and it becomes complex.

The United States of America remains the experiment of the Great Society. We still have much to learn. It is how we fly out of this current atmosphere of unrest that will determine where we are a century from now. I have faith in our young to work harder at this “work in progress” than we have to date. We’ve made progress – but still have a long way to go. Once we find a way to put country and democracy first, we will become the promised land again.