I’ve been writing posts in my mind about issues and problems in America and around the world.  There are two problems – first, things are so complex 1000 words won’t even be a good summary and 1000 pages would barely scratch the surface.  I’m not going to write 1000 volumes….  The next thing is that every time I sit down to write, something comes up that makes my thoughts seem very insensitive.  Actually, that is part of the problem in itself – besides the fact that it shows that the hate and violence is spreading instead of slowing down, it also shows that everyone on all sides have a hard time seeing all points of view so no matter what I write, it will make someone angry, most likely because they will take what I say in a very different way than I meant it.  Of course, only an omnipotent being can see ALL points of view, but just trying to see the other side on occasion would go a long way towards solving the problems, even trying to understand the most extreme views.

There is so, so much more it’s hard to imagine where to even start.

One place is black and white thinking – I’m not talking about skin color, here is a hint: if you think there are two ways of looking at things, your way and the wrong way, then you are wrong.  With the exception of outrageous things like raping children, there is no pure, clean division between good and evil.  And then, of course, who defines what is outrageous?  Our society defines raping children as outrageous, but it wasn’t that long ago that our society defined interracial marriage as outrageous, an affront against God.  So perhaps even in the most outrageous things imaginable we need to look at all sides – understanding another’s point of view does not mean condoning it, and people who hurt others for any reason are always suspect, the more innocent the person they hurt, the more suspect.

Then there is fear.  There is so much fear in this world!  It is an uncertain place and there might be some bad things out there.  The future might not be bright and it all leads to death.  But fear, particularly unreasonable fear, is one of the biggest ills in this world.  Look at the word “terrorism”.  It means to make people afraid far beyond what is reasonable and to act on that fear.  Fear is something that many news sources use to drive your point of view.  Politicians use it all of the time and political parties base large parts of their platform on it.  I could write 1000 books, each 1000 pages long on this one subject – I think it is the driver behind much of what’s happening. Continue reading →