After the recent events with the Don Imus incident regarding the descriptions he used regarding the women basketball players. It occurred to me that we have created our own problems. We have created our own racial problems.
Just in my lifetime, 1957 to present, we have gone from segregation to inclusion to inclusion with qualifications. What I mean by inclusion with qualifications is that we have identified Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Gay Americans, Straight Americans and so forth. We have fragmented America. Instead of just being AMERICANS, we are now “Specific Community or Group” Americans. Then we have the further fragmentation of each group or community because it is looking for its own special treatment. Its own special rules, its own special authority, its own special power.
“One Nation under God, indivisible” in the National Anthem has been diluted to the point it seems not to have the same meaning it did when it was scribed almost 200 years ago. Pride in self and country has been lost. And my generation appears to be the guilty party. During the same time we were going through the Civil Rights Movement, we (my generation) was also starting free love, the ME generation, the power generation, the start of the latch key kids, don’t punish children by spanking, Dr. Spock, Mr. Spock, Sun Myung Moon, Moonies, Moon rocks, Mood ring, love beads, free love, Woodstock, pure logic, zero population growth, flower child. expand your mind - expand your conscience, doing my own thing, don’t get involved, looking out for number 1, discrimination, Affirmative Action, Reverse Discrimination, Age Discrimination, Gender Discrimination, Sexual Orientation Discrimination, regulation, deregulation, Medicare, Medicaid, and I am sure that you can add so many more of these. We have apparently forgotten and we quit teaching ourselves and the generations that have followed that it’s not just about me. It is about we! It is about being involved, caring for my neighbor; it is about being a friend.
The result is that each person is out for their own benefits. Each person does not want to be bothered, just let me do “my own thing.” The result is many fragmented communities in this country all looking for special treatment. We have lowered standards to be inclusive, rather than raise standards to achieve the best. We have settled for less so we don’t have hurt feelings. We have settled for less so to satisfy our own conscience. We have settled for less so that we don’t have losers, everybody wins. We have enabled a generation or several generations at mediocrity. We have enabled a generation or generations that believe clothes, style and fashion is worth more than self pride and self value. We have created and enabled double standards. What have we really won?
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