Divided we fail

And right here on our own soil we are very divided. It doesn't matter what we are trying to achieve, it will be far harder if not impossible without standing together. We apparently haven't learned to set aside our differences, despite history beating us over the head with them.

Just look at all the ways we fight and tear ourselves apart.

Politics: Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals, calling each other names and fighting over things that should be common sense. We vote for our politicians based on their label rather than what kind of person they really are if they really are qualified for the job. Don't even get me started on taxpayers shelling out millions of dollars (major overkill) to some politician running for President. You know what that amounts to? Paying a prospective employee to apply for a job. That's what they are doing! Applying for a job! There's a better way but that's for another post.

Religion: We are supposed to have freedom of religion and that's all fine and dandy. But it does very little for the fact that we still judge each other on beliefs. It doesn't stop at whether or not you believe in or worship God, but right down to how you do it. Catholics, Protestants, Lutherans, Baptists, Mormons, Jews, 7th Day Adventists, and more. And don't tell me they love each other when they've been fighting throughout history. Why can't we learn from our mistakes? The Crusades, the Inquisition, and right down to Protestants and Catholics blowing each other up over in Ireland. Yeah that's another country, but still holds to prove my point. DIVIDED. It's not having all these different churches that's really the problem, it's the fact that we refuse to tolerate each other and get past differences.

And there is the bottom line. We have to stop depending on labels to tell us what a person is like. We have to get past our differences. There are great people in our American history with holidays named after them, and we still aren't listening to them. People like Martin Luther King Jr. His words apply to so much more than racial differences. They apply to all our differences.

Worrying about how someone believes what they believe or what they label might be is a waste. Set it aside, learn from the heart and mind rather than what is merely on the surface. Realize we are all human and in this mess together. From there, work to make our world a better place. And don't disregard these words because you think your neighbor won't do it. The true question is, will you do it in spite of all else? Can you?