Divided We Fall

If there is one thing that I have ascertained from the 2016 Presidential election it is that we are a divided nation.  Having grown up in the sixties I have experienced toxic divisiveness before, but in the late sixties there seemed to be two issues that divided us.  One was the racial issue.  Black people felt that they were not being treated equally and in the end that led to tension and some nasty riots.  I lived through one of those in Detroit.  The other concern that caused rising hostility was the war in Viet Nam.  While the later was a Black/White issue, the peace movement was very much a generational issue.  The young wanted peace, while older adults generally supported the war effort.

In our current situation there seems to me so much that divides us, to the point I do not know where to start.  The gun rights activists vs. those who view the 2^nd Amendment as out of date.  There are those who want to build a wall to keep foreigners out and those who want to grant amnesty to the illegal aliens who are already here.  The “Black Lives Matter” movement tells me the racial tensions are still present. On the other side are people who support the police believing that most crimes against Blacks are committed by Blacks. According to data in a recent issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, it is not just young Blacks who should have an issue with their current situation.  Black workers still make less than Whites with the same degree (Bloomberg Businessweek, September 19, 2016, pg. 54).  Lastly, there is still a generational issue.  Millennials have such disdain for both candidates that many plan to boycott this election, while older American seem to be flocking to the polls.  But even then there is a void.  More people seem to be voting against a candidate, than in support of one. 

It would be easy for me to just turn our nation’s plight over to the Lord and pray for an end to the discord but that is not enough.  I must also first confess my own bias against certain groups or individuals.  I must also learn to listen more.  I need to seek out those who are different, or who might be hurting.  It is only when we seek to understand each other that we can have any hope of working together.  I am only one, but if change is to happen it has to start with me.  I sincerely hope that you will join me in this effort.  I do not think we have lost our way as a nation.  The truth is that we have different segments of society that each feel they know the way, but the paths are very different.

 

Please commit yourself to joining me in prayers for:

Our nation,

Our leaders,

Those who are oppressed,

And the church, that we might be Jesus in the world.