By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | Converging pressures are on our democratic republic like never before.
Once somewhat isolated by oceans that protected us, today’s cyber world knows no boundaries.
Today it’s not just other nations that threaten us. We have significant internal problems our country has not faced ever before.
We’re not just talking about the Trump Administration’s inability to fill important posts. We’re not talking about the confusion the new president creates in his almost daily flutter of conflicting diatribes.
Look at the Senate with a 52 vote Republican majority, yet they can’t get together on the wording of a significant “Repeal Obama” medical bill. They rush to pass this flawed legislation so that they can move to re-write a tax code that is a monumental task with no indication of success.
We should also question the Democrats for their virtual puny job of being the Loyal Opposition. They so far have provided no reasonable alternatives.
And our country, and really the world, is threatened today with a scientific advancement that has tremendous potential, yet which comes with startling problems: social media. We are now realizing the problems of putting a brake on this new phenomenon which promises unlimited potential….but which we now recognize as a two-way street bringing solutions plus problems.
Comments from some of our readers show the extent of our situation. Let’s quote some of their comments, with no names used since the thought is more important. These comments are taken randomly from people on both sides of the aisle.
Comment A: “As societies become more diversified, unity based on beliefs and values can be very difficult if not impossible.”
Person B: “Can we ever regain whatever it was that made our representative democracy so special? Possibly not, but definitely not if we think one person in the Oval office is the real issue.”
Comment C: “I think the Democrats need to really soul search about why someone like Trump would become the appealing choice to so many.”
Reader D: “Political effectiveness requires saying what you have to say to advance a cause, no matter which party you belong to.”
Comment E: “As long as the focus is on Trump — rather than the issues that allowed Trump to win the presidency, and the support of the masses who put him there — then the debate is misdirected. And I am no Trump fan”
Reader F: “Life in Russia proves that a free, prospering society cannot exist where basic truth and trust are not at its foundation.”
Comment G: “I’m convinced unless this country returns to Biblical Christian morals and values, the end is truly near. I’m actually scared for our children and especially our grandchildren.”
Reader H: “I believe that accord is far easier to accomplish in a homogeneous society where values and beliefs are wholly shared. “
Comment I: “It is too bad that when a political leader is wrong, and seems to be incapable of admitting it because it supposedly will make them look weak.”
Comment J: “Sen. Patrick Moynihan’s ‘You’re entitled to your own opinion, but not your own fact’ seems to be forgotten.
Reader K: “A loss of a basic agreement on what is true and what isn’t is the division resulting from that.“
Comment L: “I’ve thought for years that cable news is problematic. I now think that internet information is even more of a problem. The onus is on institutions to catch up. I have faith that they will.”
Reader M: “The relentless misinformation that fills the airways, the written word, and mostly the internet as the transmitter, provides so much vitriol as never before has been made available to the average man. Without ethics and morality, there are no limitations as what can be made available in every living room in the country.”
Your ideas?
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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