America: “We are like pinballs in bumper pool” by Rich Carey

      

Understand, I think the last essay I wrote was in my English class at my high school back in 1967 so the below endeavor is literally a stab at expose` composition.  Currently, I’m involved in archiving work and feel the past is important not to lose, but I also want to be progressive in the present. The problem is …

My America is rapidly changing into a divided America before my eyes.  Disrespect, hatred and divisiveness are running rampant, not just from the words of our President, but also from America’s citizens.  Anger, deception and dishonesty are becoming the norm.  Digital technology and the media are exacerbating the spread of cynicism.  I just can’t keep up with it all and frankly can’t understand it. What’s happening?

I am a product of WWII parents who also withstood the deprivations of the Great Depression. My upbringing involved learning to respect my fellow man.  I had the Protestant ethic of honest hard work drummed into me at an early age.  They modeled for me the obligation to love my neighbor, for then I would be respected and loved in return.

I lived by that credo through high school, junior college, undergraduate university, and post-graduate education and held these ideals to be essential throughout my career as a high school health/sports medicine teacher and athletic trainer.  And I am still convinced today that these principles served me well.

The current COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across America has been a test of our empathy and respect for the well-being of our neighbors. It is also a test of considerate and unselfish leadership. But instead, we are witnessing behaviors and attitudes from elected state and federal officials who have no definitive plans to combat this crisis nor any sense of responsibility toward a real solution. Many of them ignore undeniable metric facts and the obvious results of scientific research. And they do this to protect their political power and their public status. They deny the facts rather than admitting to what has been learned. They project blame rather than planning action. 

      

Leaders should lead and direct. I must be “old school” because I was taught to trust our governmental officials.  They would identify a problem, research the outcomes of the problem, set up strategies to combat the problem which would include input from others, deal effectively with the problem, and finally do a follow-up and consider feedback on how they can combat the problem better.  I haven’t seen this approach exhibited anywhere.  So now we are like pinballs in bumper pool. We don’t know who to believe or what path to take.  My America has changed.

Yet another issue is the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Growing up I never encountered any Black Americans.  My experience with Black Americans took place in college and in athletics. I never had any racist thoughts or prejudices. However, my first position as a teacher at a 90% Black American high school in a central city school district brought those viewpoints to the forefront.  I worked inside “their world,” so to speak.  I observed and experienced prejudicial remarks and attitudes “thrown” at staff and students from the outside in. Therefore, from that new viewpoint, my convictions changed. I began to empathize with Black students and staff after witnessing their experiences and listening to their perspectives.  It made me realize that they were ignored for decades, especially in regard to access to healthcare, housing, and job opportunities. 

     

Thus, I agree with the non-violent BLM protests.  Maybe change will take place to right these wrongs.  However, we must have a stake in helping to achieve these changes through actions, policies and programs and not just through words.  Just as with the virus pandemic, the BLM movement is an issue we have to tackle together as a nation.  

My America is changing, and I must change with it in positive and proactive ways, whether it be by voting, helping out in the community, or being a good person.  We are all part of this pandemic and the fight for social injustice together as Americans.  My hope is we can fend off the self-centered agendas, the anger, the meanness, and the hateful actions of others and create an empathetic America that cares about ALL people regardless of ethnicity.  Ultimately, it’s up to all of us to form our own opinions but to keep our eyes and minds open. The values of truth, respect, moral character, forgiveness, compassion and prosperity are the tenets of the America I want returned to all of us. 

-Rich Carey, MS, AT, Retd. Mesa, Arizona