A Common Thread

I posted this on my Myspace page back in May. It was one of those flashes of brilliance that I got. I wish I got more of those more often. Anyway, I wanted to share it on here, because I think it is so appropriate these days. Enjoy!

What common thread is there in America? What is the American dream anymore? Last night my husband and I were talking about how Obama voted against English as being the official language of America. It's a tragedy.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for diversity and people being able to speak their language of choice. But where is the unity that is supposed to hold us together? There is no common religion. There is no common language. There is no common value system even. The common thread is that everyone does what is right for him or her. Diversity is tearing our country apart.

The common attitude among Americans is this: If you want to practice that religion/live that lifestyle/agree with the policies of other countries/fill in the blank, then that's okay. Just don't shove it down my throat. Healthy debate has even fallen to the wayside. No common consensus is reached, and it turns into a contest of who can speak the loudest and make the other person feel bad. It doesn't have to be that way.

I really enjoyed the Disney/Pixar movie, "Cars." It was a wonderful movie, and I surprised myself by being able to break it down and analyze it. One thing that jumped out at me was the population of Radiator Springs. The population was quite diverse. There were Italians, a Mexican, a Black, a woman, old white men, an old woman, a hippie, a retired Army seargent, and a country hick. This is my take on the cars there. I think I got everyone. They were so different, yet they were so unified. They had a common goal that brought them together. They wanted people to come to their town, and they worked toward that goal together. I enjoyed seeing that kind of unity being presented in a children's movie. It is possible and it can happen. Sure, some of the cars got on some of the other car's nerves. It's a normal part of life. It wasn't perfect. The point is that they still stuck with their town and their neighbors.

I can see and feel a kind of "them versus us" attitude in American politics and life in general. It's Democrat versus Republican. It's conservative versus liberal. It's religious versus secular. It's gotten to such a point that you can't say anything about anything for fear of offending someone else. In unity we should not offend easily. Unity is about supporting what is good for the group as a whole. It is not about sacrificing the good of whole for the good of a few, yet this is what is happening. Because of a few who are offended by the Ten Commandments, it is not allowed to be displayed. The majority of Americans are religious, but popular culture and politics does not reflect that.

What is our common thread? What is our common goal as American people and how can we support each other in our journey to this common goal? When we can come together and figure this out, then we can become the country that we are supposed to be.