It seems obvious that every human being's goal in life would be to lead a happy and productive life, free to pursue the living of their choice and to reap the rewards of their efforts. No country in the history of the world has provided better opportunities to achieve those objectives than the United States of America.
Yet the attainment of previously unknown levels of freedom and prosperity in the last few decades has resulted in unimaginable polarization of American society. It has generated a society of greed, arrogance, selfishness and hate - human characteristics that are incompatible with happiness and productivity.
Modern civilization lacks civility. America no longer values the concepts of honesty, integrity, common sense and respect for others. Those who think they have a monopoly on values and principles believe theirs are the only ones that are appropriate, and feel compelled to force them on others. There is no attempt to understand the opinions of others or compromise for the greater good. Everyone is talking and no one is listening. The attitude is I am right, and if you don't agree with me you are an idiot.
What are the causes of this polarization?
1. Politics and Political Parties. They do nothing but demonize and vilify their opponents, constantly portraying the other side as the personification of evil while declaring themselves the saviors of mankind. Furthermore, corruption is rampant as big money allows special interest groups to buy influence, favors and contracts, creating hostile divisions between those who are the beneficiaries of government spending and those who have to pay for it. Americans need to have more choices, whether it be third and fourth parties, or independents. And the campagn system needs to be reformed in a manner that will allow them to get their message across.
2. Journalistic Bias. The mass media is not interested in truth or facts. They publish and broadcast little but opinions designed to influence and control the thinking of the public. They choose what to publish, what not to publish, and slant it in a manner that will convey only their point of view. In a free society there may not be much we can do about that. All one can hope for is that Americans are smart enough to know the truth about journalism and will never allow censorship to silence opposing points of view.
Unfortunately, the current reality of political acrimony and media manipulation of the news has resulted in an American public that is highly misinformed and brainwashed about the most important issues facing modern society.
National Defense and the War on Terror - There seems to be a lack of belief or understanding that brutal, violent people exist who hate us (or more accurately, are jealous of our freedom and prosperity) and will do anything to eliminate us from the face of the earth. It is not important to be liked by the rest of the world. It is important to be prepared to defend what you have when others try to take it from you.
Economic Progress - Capitalism, free markets, fair competition, low taxes and limited government interference have produced the great wealth America has achieved, not redistribution of income, government mandated industrial engineering and high taxes. The tax system should never be used to confiscate the rewards of the productive nor to favor chosen industries or sectors with tax breaks. Socialism works only if the goal is to make everyone equally miserable.
It shouldn't be that difficult to realize liberty means freedom of thought and toleration of opposing views; that our economic system of capitalism and free markets works; and there are bad people out there who want to destroy us because they are insanely jealous of our way of life. Why can't we all understand that and try a little harder to just get along.
