Divisiveness: A Weapon of Mass Destruction

What's the opposite of welcoming? Unwelcoming. What's the opposite of inclusion? Exclusion. Welcoming is inclusive, unwelcoming is exclusive -- it's divisive. 

Divisiveness is a weapon of mass destruction. It destroys families, communities, and countries. It's a plague. It sickens, weakens, and often kills its infected hosts who refuse to realize, until its too late, that their ignorant assumptions of someone or something not of their tribe -- the other, the stranger, the religion, or the ideology -- can lead to mass social destruction if we put fear and hatred reflexively ahead of listening and understanding. 

Last year I wrote Bipartisanship: A Bridge Too Far? in which I posed the question, "Can we as a nation come together to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in today's destructive U.S. court of public politics, where the truth can be elusive, and where spinning truth and facts to fit a point of view or a promised outcome seems all that we hear from competing politicians, regardless of political party?"

In the article I presented Mark Gurzon's and Arthur C. Brooks' points of view, which offered constructive ways to bring America together to reject the polarization that is preventing our ability to govern the United States effectively. They open a knowingly difficult path to restoring our faith in each other and in our country, but we have to have the courage to follow it. It gave me hope. It gave me optimism. "It's not a bridge too far," I concluded. Was I naive? Am I naive?

In the months since I wrote the piece, the dysfunction gripping the United States has tightened. Polarization has wedged a deepening divide between many segments of society. It's stretching our social fabric thinner and thinner. Our government leaders drive the wedge deeper, constantly blaming, mocking, name-calling, lying, and pointing fingers at those not of their tribe: people they dismiss out of hand, rather than attempt to embrace, include, or welcome, or even try to understand their points of view. It's a criticism they sharply accuse each other of doing year after year after year. They-did-it-so-we-can-too is their thinking. This approach is a weapon of mass destruction.

Yes, divisiveness is a weapon of mass destruction. It has the power to destroy us without launching a missile, dropping a bomb, or firing a bullet. Divisiveness is the weapon that charts the future path of rockets, missiles, and bombs. The internal and external enemies who threaten the destruction of the United States have been sowing the seeds of division for years, just waiting for the harvest. ISIS, racism, bigotry, and ignorance thrive on our dysfunction. They will hammer the wedge more each day if we don't wake up from our sleepwalking toward the abyss.

We have a choice. We can continue to sleepwalk aimlessly toward "permanent enmity" where "bigotry and contempt make it impossible for America to do many great things," or we can reject polarization and wake up from our national nightmare by exercising self-respect and respect for others. Which will you choose?


This post also was published in CT Viewpoints on November 7, 2017


Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com

Government Always Matters

Satellite Image of Hurricane Irma
Credits: NASA/NOAA/UWM-CIMSS, William Straka

Mayor Bob Buckhorn got it right when he told NBC's Willie Geist "This is when government matters," after Hurricane Irma passed through Tampa.

It matters when government is prepared to lead. We honor and fully appreciate our first responders whose mission is to serve and protect us in the wake of disasters, both natural and human caused. We want and fully expect our governments -- federal, state and local -- to execute a coordinated and effective disaster response of immediate rescue and relief followed by supportive recovery and reconstruction efforts. 

We hail the many heroes from government, the military, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and every-day citizens running full speed to aid those in distress. We are mobilized by the common call of our human decency to help our friends, neighbors and strangers in times of immediate need.

President Trump made the right call when he unequivocally ordered immediate national disaster declarations directing rescue and relief aid to the victims of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. His focus was on saving lives, not what it might cost. It's a call we should expect any president to make. Thankfully, it's a decision made all the more easy because the United States has a well-prepared, expertly trained team ready to mobilize at a moments notice. A team long in the making years before Trump's presidency. A team championed, created and funded by generations of forward thinking federal administrations, state and local governments, NGOs, and citizens committed to sustaining it year after year.

It's a team comprised of weather scientists from NOAA and NASA who could rationally predict with a high degree of certainty the course and magnitude of the storms as they approached; of a network of seasoned news media skilled in broadcasting events as they unfold, and disseminating the government's warnings alerting the public; of expert first responders ranging from FEMA to military units to local fire, police, and emergency medical services; of hospitals and NGOs fully prepared and ready to fulfill their missions of aid and relief; of faith-based organizations calling on their congregations to respond; and concerned citizens, like you and me, ready to answer the call to assist our neighbors in need. Our ability to respond is the value of time-tested responsible government leadership. It is born of commitment to collaboration and trust, and a willingness to partner.

Our natural rush to respond to disasters brings out the collective best in us to help each other survive and recover. It unifies us. Let's capitalize on this unifying spirit to mitigate the occurrence of self-inflicted disasters. Disasters caused by how we may choose to negotiate international diplomacy; to send our military into harms way; to address economic growth and security; to understand science; and to enforce the rights and fair treatment of the abused and vulnerable. Being passive observers won't do. We must rush to help our government focus on creating a common good that is meant for all of us. To avoid self-inflicted disasters our leaders must choose wisely, and choose our leaders wisely we must.

"This is when government matters." This is why government matters. Government always matters.


This post also was published in CT Viewpoints on September 21, 2017


Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com