Societal Divide. What can we do about it?

Ignorance is bliss.....and bliss is ignorance.....will we lose our country without a shot being fired because it is someone's right to come in and take it?

We have to make some changes in our society, drastic changes, we cannot continue on the way we are headed. If we fail to act, we will simply give our country away....our founding fathers would be ashamed at the fallacy that is our democratic society that exist today. Too many do too little and expect too damned much for absolutely frickin nothing!

So by all rights, I can wave a huge American flag and hold a sign saying "try to step on this one." Would that be considered trying to incite a riot? Why do I have the feeling that I would be at fault when things get out of control and I would be the instigator? I would also like to apologize for being white, which clearly makes me a member of this "white supremacy." Forgive me, but my "supremeness" needs to go back to counting my millions and twisting my mustache and think of the next way I can keep oppressing the masses. Haters gotta hate. Try putting on a uniform and standing a post and seeing how he rest of the world really is. You'll be picking that flag off of the ground with a super maga-f'n quickness! I'm wasting my time trying to think logically with people who believe that the way to solve this issue is to desecrate the American flag and blame "the man." That is an impressive solution regarding social reform. Then again, the way things are going, we will end up paying them $15 an hour to step on the flag because they aren't employed. Be a part of the solution and take that cell phone and take pictures of yourself cleaning up around your neighborhood or other positive steps.

The first thing we need to do is recognize there is a problem. While that may sound like a "cop out", it needs to be stated. It is far too easy for those watching these actions unfold to throw up defensive barriers and cry out in exasperation "Why are *they* doing this?"

I believe everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, and using that baseline, I must conclude that those protesting honestly feel that they are being mistreated. If I view it from the simplistic lens of "*they* just want to loot and get free stuff" or "*they're* stepping on a symbol that I fought for, and therefore *they* are not worth listening to" then I become part of the problem they seem to be decrying.

So I must first recognize a problem exists. Then I have to think to myself, "What would cause me to take to the streets in anger?" As a rational, semi-intelligent person, it'd take a lot to push me out into the streets against my neighbors, protectors, and country. However, I signed up for the military because I wanted to fight injustice that could harm my family, and by extension my world. That was an easy rational decision that each of us in uniform made.

So these protesters are stepping on the flag, and if we assume they are rational people, then it is because they feel like injustice has been done to them specifically by the country whose flag they are stepping on. They must fear harm will come to their family, and by extension, their world.

Here is where the problem reveals itself. Rationally speaking, you don't harm yourself. If you are going to bring harm to someone, it will be someone who is opposed to your way of life or preventing what you want to accomplish. These protesters must believe that if the US is harming them, it is because they stand in opposition to what the US wants to accomplish. Once again, since rational things don't hurt themselves, these protesters are basically saying "we are a culture that is separate and distinct, and our culture is being oppressed by the culture of the United States, because we stand in its way". Or, in other words, "We are not Americans".

So, what can be done? We need to create an "American culture" that binds us all together. For decades now we have broken our unified culture apart, holding certain sub-cultures up in the spotlight of the media as more or less important than others. We have split ourselves along racial, political, and religious lines. We have closed the ranks of our sub-cultures and created an environment where one culture can clash against another even in the heart of the same geographic location.

We need unity, and that starts with reaching out to someone who doesn't look or think like you, who doesn't match your sub-culture, and having a freaking conversation with them. Maybe soon enough we'll realize that our culture, our unifying American culture, hasn't really gone anywhere. Its been here all along... branded into our souls, framed in the constitution, and perpetually protected by an all-volunteer military. Tear down the sub-cultures; find our commonality in seeking true justice. It will start with each of us.