**FILE** A Make America Great Again hat in support of Donald Trump at a rally at Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix (Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons)
As the year draws to a close and Americans prepare for Trump 2.0, it’s fascinating to see how so many people have drawn a line in the sand, and not only refuse to cross over it, but also dare anyone without an invitation to come on their side.
We are truly a divided nation.
Sadly, perhaps even tragically, America seems hellbent to follow in the footsteps of other nations who, while at one time were the envy of the world, have since fallen from grace and been replaced by others. Like the fictitious Humpty Dumpty, they have slipped from their privileged perch on the wall, shattered into a million pieces and cannot be put back together again.
History shows us that what catapulted America to its present status as the most powerful and prestigious nation on Earth is our diversity. America’s founding fathers took the best of Native Americans, European immigrants, African slaves, Asian wonderkids and Third World prodigies and formed a new nation, which capitalized on those people’s collective strengths.
Of course, we know those who benefited most from the American experiment were white, male landowners with education, but alas, that’s always been the American way.
Today, we recognize those whose voices dominate social media even though it’s clear that oftentimes what’s being touted on Twitter, TikTok and Facebook as “the gospel,” isn’t always the truth — even though it’s sometimes close. However, if you listen to some people, the truth is irrelevant.
At the same time, we continue to witness the trend of banning books under the auspices that some adults are concerned that children are being exposed to negative ideas, negative people, negative situations and negative truths. But the real deal remains, book banning is simply a way of determining who and what are acceptable and unacceptable to those who, like Humpty Dumpty, are for the moment, proudly perched on the wall, wielding their power and relishing in it.
Consider the parable of the man who watched his dog lying on wooden steps who believed his dog was comfortable until a visitor asked, “Why is your dog whining?” The man said, “There’s a nail sticking up right where he’s sitting.” When the visitor asked why the dog didn’t just get up, the man replied, “It seems the pain isn’t enough yet to make him move.”
Yes, the truth may be what Americans need to set our nation free but it seems that living in the land of make-believe is so much easier, even if it means that we must continue to lie on the nail of our choice in pain.
Reprinted from the Washington Informer
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