The America I Grew Up In

The America I grew up in and the America I still try to live in is not portrayed in our media. An America where hard work and dedication to your family and community are at the center. An America where I, an informed citizen, make decisions based not on partisanship or ritualistic dogma, but on what I think. Here are a couple of them.

National Disgrace!

I love and care about my transgender brothers and sisters, but where they go to the bathroom is not as important a national crisis as say our failing education system. Fifty-eight percent of African American kids in this country don’t graduate high school. This is a national disgrace! This should be what we are focused on, but we are not because divisive issues are brought up by both sides of the isle and blasted through lazy entertainment news media. We get brainwashed into thinking what’s being talked about is important.

[clickToTweet tweet=”‘Hopelessness is the fertile soil on which the thing we personally care about most is built.” -R.B. @askbobforrest” quote=”“Hopelessness is the fertile soil on which the thing we personally care about most is built.” -R.B.”]

Eat today but tomorrow?

For instance, let’s take poverty in America. Probably the single most important issue in America which causes so many other social problems in our society. Hopelessness is the fertile soil on which the thing we personally care about most is built. The skyrocketing death rates of our young people from drug overdoses. Wage inequality. Corporate greed. These are the things that should be being discussed.

Sixteen million kids in America don’t have access to a healthy breakfast. These are the issues we should be focusing on, but we don’t because we the people fall for the emotional bait that both parties throw at us, and then fight among ourselves over it. While the powers that be rob the till and concentrate more power into the hands of a few. And we hate our neighbor or parents because they don’t see things through whichever echo chamber we choose to live in.

America!

The ideas on which it is founded are amazing. Flexible and philosophical. Ever evolving and changing. But still true to its intent. Let’s stop hating and attacking each other and start solving important issues. Let’s start putting our children’s futures first. Let’s try to be adults and understand that there are very differing views on how to fix some really huge problems we have. We need debate and to stand behind any politician who rejects the powers that be dividing us. Whether that politician is John McCain or Bernie Sanders. Stop falling for the politicians wishes to keep the people divided.

I am much more likely to be killed in a car accident than by terrorists. That is a fact. Yet I drive everyday. We need sanity and calm. We need education and respect of each other. We need love and compassion. Both sides of the division claim to be the most loving and most compassionate. Yet it doesn’t look or feel that there is any love and compassion left in our country. Just theatrics and division, self-righteousness and self-interest. We need a leader to rise up. Where is she? Or he? We need them so desperately!