I know you are out there and are probably looking for me too.
We need to get together soon because time is running out and we are in danger of losing every thing that matters to us.
What we once believed to be sacred and enduring is dissolving in the mist of uncertainty. Our leaders extol the safety of walking the plank and plunging into the embrace of warm, gentle waves that float you across calm waters where crocodiles are banned and carefully deposit you on sandy beaches of deception.
We should have known that there was a catch, but we were distracted by the alluring rhetoric of the snake oil salesmen and the false promises of authority. The flashes of gold we glimpsed blinded us and we mistakenly thought we could earn a fair share if we worked faithfully with loyalty and integrity.
Now we know that the promises of a better world are false. A lie that cleverly and arrogantly warps, twists and distorts our confidence in the veracity of the Constitution, patriotism and the conviction that as a nation we stand shoulder to shoulder against those who want to destroy the American way of life. Entangling these beliefs in political, legal and social untruths prevented us from clearly seeing what was going on.
The cruel joke is that these rights and the ability to live our lives in peace and freedom were always the targets that needed to be destroyed to complete the takeover. As we relaxed on the seductive shores of falsehoods and deception our rights, our privacy, our ability to speak out against injustice, our influence on our representatives and our ability to choose how and where we live were siphoned from us.
I know that I am not alone when I grieve for what we have lost as proud, resilient and brave people. And I believe that like me, you cry out for a hero to stop the carnage and regain what was taken away. And like you I wail that there is no one that will help us.
In The Progress Paradox, journalist Gregg Easterbrook suggests that a major reason that Americans are not happier, despite their increasing fortunes, is “collapse anxiety”: the fear that civilization may implode and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
My heart tells me to step up and do something. Still, I can’t do it alone. Can we do it together? Can we come together and discuss our fears and anguish over the unwanted future we foresee? Is it feasible that we can come together as one voice and make a difference? I believe we can make it so. Fear shrinks when we are connected.
To be or do anything significant, we must access the power of optimism. It is a life force that can take your dreams from yearning to reality and a prudent way to deal with risks to our way of life. Optimists focus on what is needed when faced with what is. Some threats are simply figments of social pessimism but some are real. Even so, we should look on them as problems that need solutions not as pending apocalypses.
Optimism is a strategy for making the future brighter. If you believe that the future can be better, you are likely to step up and take responsibility for making it so. All it takes is the belief that you can do it.
First of all, we must find each other and listen with open heart, mind and spirit. I hope you will add your voice and help us find a way.
Are you in?
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” ―Martin Luther
