What would be the one project we all could engage in to build a renewed sense of community, unity and purpose?
So many good causes, so many non-profits. Just check the list of the United Way and the Community Calendar of any community and you will be overwhelmed by the selections.
All worthy causes and yet…..So little time, So little energy, So limited resources.
Got me to thinking….Where in the world do people unite around the same time over the same thing?
Sure there’s Christmas and Easter in Christian leaning societies. But this is not uniformly practiced and sadly other than the exchanging of presents and running up credit card debt, not much more is accomplished.
In the USA, we have our holidays and remembrance days (Presidents Day, Veterans Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July and Thanksgiving). More recently and sadly we have 911 Remembrance Day.
The 911 remembrance brings me to reflect upon the nation wide movement of remembrance in Israel concerning the holocaust. My understanding is that for a defined time on one day….EVERYTHING stops in Israel for a remembrance of victims and a resolve to never replicate the horrors of the holocaust.
This got me to thinking….What if in the USA we collectively as a nation stopped everything and devoted our time, energy and collective souls to ONE THING. Imagine the sense of unity that this would create. We might once again become the UNITED states of the United States of America.
That said, the next question to answer would be…”What would be that 1 thing that our nation did with laser sharp focus over a 24 hour period?”
For this I have no answer and am open to suggestions. The following issues come to mind:
- Global warming/climate change
- Gun violence
I’m mulling around the idea of somehow coming to a reconciliation or at least a communication with each other to reduce polarization and take the first step toward averting a civil war. I’m not sure of the logistics of this but my sense is that if we do not start making progress on that front, we will have no chance of tackling the other existential challenges. In sum, we need to heal ourselves first.
Following this train of thought….
- What if we didn’t do any more political debates, which have deteriorated into shouting matches?
- What if we didn’t spend millions on political advertising?
- What if we required candidates to walk together through their neighborhoods and districts greeting and listening to constituents together?
- What if we required term restrictions so candidates did not become too entrenched in the status quo and out of touch with reality?
At the most basic local level everybody (both candidates and constituents) desire the following basics: food…clothing…shelter….safety….basic education…..health care…opportunity for their kids.
If we were to cut away the noise of partisanship, maybe we might live in harmony and actually feel better about ourselves, out neighborhood, city, state, nation. Civil war averted. Now that’s the ONE THING we all should get behind, before it’s too late.
Dunn Writes Well 