What Happened to America?

America was born from war. According to Wikipedia, beginning with The Revolutionary War, America has been involved in 107 wars (and counting). It also says we won 81 of those. (Although, I am not sure what winning means) That is 76% which is a rather good record, I guess, if you like stats?

But what good did all those wars accomplish? Well, of course in our first war, we won our independence from The King’s rule, our freedom, and the right to govern ourselves. Other wars were fought to keep our freedom from those who wanted to take it away.

We fought for and with our allies when they were threatened and when we were needed. We fought for a variety of reasons in other wars, some good reasons, some bad reasons. Wars are ongoing today as we continue to add to the stats.

What has happened to America along the way? In my opinion, America has hardened its heart, and therefore become severely divided. We have drawn lines in the sand, divided into factions and we all scream out, “nobody, but nobody is right, and everyone is wrong until they agree with me and my faction.”

It is Just Politics as Usual

Some say it is just politics and it has always been this way. In case you do not know, in American government we have the left and the right, Democrats and Republicans. They have always argued, never agree, and never will. Many say this is the problem.

No, that is not the problem at all! America used to be united, despite our differences. Although we fought a 4-year civil war, afterwards we re-united. We were again “The United States.” We might have still disagreed on how to solve a problem but we “united” to resolve it.

If you have been paying any attention to our country lately, you know we are anything but a “United States.” There are so many issues dividing us, it seems hopeless that we could ever unite again. Our enemies need not wage war against us, threaten us, kill us, or destroy our independence and freedom. Hell, we are killing each other and destroying America and freedom by ourselves! (Please excuse my French).

There was a song in the 60’s that foretold a bit of what has been occurring in America called “For What it’s Worth?” By: Buffalo Springfield.

Here is one line from that song: “There’s battle lines being drawn. Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong.” (You can hear the song here) Youtube Video.

You Might Ask, What’s The Answer Smarty Pants?

Well, the answer is not religion. I am a Christian so it’s extremely hard for me to say that. But for the sake of this article let us try a different approach, an approach that would actually work for everyone. It is worth a try.

If I were to say, the answer IS religion, the immediate response would be, which religion? Or, I do not believe in religion, or a multitude of negative responses. So, you can see the discussion very quickly divides us. More wars have been fought in the name of religion than anything else. We have probably won few of those wars and if we did, it did not seem to help based on where we are today.

Again, Mr. “Know it All” What’s The Answer?

I have an answer, I am going to give you my answer, but you will not like the answer. The answer to all America’s problems is simply one word, “discipline.”

It is discipline that determines everything in my life, your life, and the lives of people all over the world. I must believe that unless there is a medical or mental problem involved, that everyone really knows right from wrong. But we become one-sided or even radical when we have no “discipline.” Without discipline we lose our common sense.

We all know the basic, common, humanitarian tenets that, if followed would unite America again. But although most Americans know how they “should act” and what they “should do.” The problem is that we do not have the discipline to do them.

The reason Religion is not the answer to America’s division, hatred, and constant warring is we have allowed different Religions and our many differences to divide us. We are stubborn and hardheaded, we accept no belief system but our own. We would not be caught dead reading about another person’s beliefs if they did not match ours.

Understanding and being tolerant of other ways does not mean I have to sacrifice my own beliefs.

We All Want the Same Thing

All peoples around the world do share common beliefs about truths, rules, commandments, or precepts. Whatever names they are given, they show us how to be decent human beings and how to get along together. This list below proves that the answer to our continuous wars and division cannot simply be religion. It shows that having the discipline to live our lives by our common ground is the answer.

This is a woefully simplified list of the precepts or rules concerning most people on our little planet. There is so, so much more than this brief list that we all have in common. I did the best I could in a short space.

We just need the discipline to study and practice our similarities rather than study and fight about our differences. I was quite surprised when I studied other countries and other people. I was also reminded that the United States was created from all races, beliefs, and many types of people. They are our brothers, sisters, and neighbors.

We know there are extremists in our world because they do not discipline their thinking, but below are things and reasons we can come together.

A Sample of What I Found

Christianity (31.1%) Love God and Love your brother as yourself.

Islam (24.9%) Love God and be good to others.

Irreligion (15.6%) Generally speaking, have the same precepts as others, but no Deity.

Hinduism (15.2%) Buddhism and Hinduism agree on many things: karma, dharma, moksha and reincarnation.

Buddhism (6.6%) To do no evil. To do good. To save all beings.

There is a common theme here: To love and be good to all other beings.

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