Changing America and the World is Up To Each of Us!

I feel inspired to write about America as a whole. I grew up in California with parents who were democrats and very tuned in to the Civil Rights movement of the 50's and 60's. They were very intelligent individuals, non-judgmental and proactive. As a young boy I was thankfully indoctrinated with the same principals. I don't think I will ever understand somebody else's thinking that one race or person is better than another. We are all in this country and for that matter the world as brothers and sisters of the human race. I often think on how my life would be different if one event or another in history had changed and I had deviated from the course I've been given.

What if I had been born in the South with the history of the Confederacy in my family. Would I feel the same as I do now about African Americans. If I was different in my thought process and I felt like my ancestry had been slighted by the Civil War outcome how would I handle that. Would I be right or would the guy from California be correct in his thinking?

What if I had been born as a Native American on a reservation? Would I feel that the constitution and manifest destiny were God driven and inspired. I probably would not. I would most likely feel like my ancestors had been cheated and that had been passed on to me.

If I was born an African American in the deep south and had grown up feeling the oppression of having to live through inequality, would I feel a deep kinship with the Caucasian guy from California who tells me he agrees with me and understands or would I look at him and tell him to take a hike with his false understanding and pity? You see we all have different view points. How do we bring ourselves together?

We are so diverse here in so many ways, how can we, or can we possibly bring it all together and be one? I believe that what stops us from doing that is a combination of fear, greed and selfishness. It isn't the government or the terrorists or any thing else that stops us other than our own individual desires and the lack of trust that comes with these weaknesses.

Religion has been called a crutch at times. It has been called many things that denote it as false and possibly destructive. I believe strongly that the foundations of our country as well as our world are divinely supported. I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that what he taught can take us beyond ourselves and unify us as a family of brothers and sisters. Just about any religion that I know of whether it is Hindu, Christian, Muslim or Buddist teaches priciples of peace and acceptance. What is wrong with that. I will tell you what is wrong with it. It interferes with our greed, our selfishness, our fears and all of the things that keep us apart. We are weak and change scares us.

From the foundations of our country and our loss of religion and values our lives and families have not gotten stronger they have become weaker. We are more selfish and greed driven than ever before. We are less tolerant even though we don't consider ourselves so. We are less thoughtful and instead of "we" it is "me". Our families do not exist as husband, wife and children. We have single parents, foster care and latchkey kids in the majority. What is the difference between then and now? It is the belief that God has a hand in all things. If we could get back to that our lives would take on new meaning and we would be able to easily overcome the obsticles that now face us. I have to believe that all things are possible. They may not be probable, but they are possible.

There are cynics, agnostics, atheists and hypocritical religionists who would disagree with me on what I have written. What proof do they have that I am wrong. They have an opinion. I have a testimony that I am correct from what I have read (scriptures), but mainly from what I have felt. I believe that God lives and answers prayers. Through this divine communication we can and will be provided information and truth that will convince us like nothing else. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, (the Mormons) and even though I am far from perfect I will state boldly that what I have written is for all people not just members of my religion. There is a life after we die, but the time we have here is very important to us.Found on Footnote.com

I want to learn what Christ taught. I can't think of a better way to live than to love my fellow men. To give and to care. To trust and to share. I would be happy if I could do these things without guile. Who wouldn't be? We need to get back to our religious roots America's Revolution and work on becoming more loving and tolerant. We need to be more forgiving and compassionate. We can look to our political leaders to fix things but the problem lies with each of us, and always has!