It’s All About Me

 

Ramblings of A Retired Mind

The new motto seems to be: “It’s all about me now.”

Is that really the direction we want for our great nation—and for ourselves as citizens?

Rules are for everyone else, but not for me.

We see it in the person who fishes without a license, hunts an endangered animal, or speeds down the highway because the rules apparently don't apply to them. We see it in the driver who takes up two parking spaces, the neighbor who blasts music without a thought for anyone around them, or the person who sets off fireworks during a record drought with no concern for the danger to others.

Little things, perhaps. But little things add up.

Something seems different now. The sense that we are all part of the same community—that our actions affect other people—seems to be slipping away.

And then there is politics.

The divide has become so vast that sometimes it feels as though we are no longer simply citizens who disagree with one another, but opposing camps. And, sadly, there are those who have taken that division literally, preparing for conflict rather than conversation.

People are up in arms because they believe someone else is getting something for free that they don't have. We hear arguments about sharing, about helping those who need it, and immediately someone cries, “That's socialism!” And we all know where that is supposed to lead.

But here is what concerns me even more: when the wealth of a nation becomes concentrated in the hands of a very few, their power becomes enormous. With enough wealth comes influence. With enough influence comes the ability to shape the rules themselves.

And power, once concentrated, can be very difficult to stop.

Then some believe they have the answer for people who won't vote their way: make it harder for them to vote. If they won't support us, perhaps we should find a way to keep them from having a voice.

Is this really what we want?

I am just one person. I don't have the power to change the direction of a nation by myself. But I do have children. I have grandchildren. And I worry—deeply—about the world we are leaving them.

I wonder what they will inherit from us.

Will they inherit a country where we still believe that rules apply to everyone? Where we care about our neighbors even when we disagree with them? Where we understand that freedom comes with responsibility? Where we recognize that the strength of a nation isn't measured solely by how much wealth a few people possess, but by how well its people treat one another?

Or will they inherit a country where the motto really has become:

“It’s all about me now.”

I hope we can do better.