Belief vs. Reality
We imagine ourselves to be who we say we are. However, in reality who we are is a result of what we do and how we execute our beliefs. We have moments of self-reflection, but the reality of who we are can be contradictory to our beliefs.
Sports offer an example of this contradiction. Our loyalty to the teams we support clouds the truth of the reality. My belief is the 49ers are a Super Bowl team. I think they should have won The Super Bowl twice over the last few years. It is difficult for me to face the truth given my loyalty. The fact is the 49rts lost those recent Super Bowls. Contrary to my beliefs they are not a Super Bowl contender this year. They are not living up to what I believe is true. I hold hope and I talk about them as if the reality is not the present……
We talk about the United States in a similar fashion. We are the greatest nation on earth with freedoms that are unique. However, we are not the only nation with freedoms, many nations have freedoms and some have greater freedom. We believe we are number one as if that is a global truth. Believing we are number one across the landscape of measurements is not true. The reality is we are number one in two categories. On a per capita basis, we incarcerate more people than any other nation. We are also number one in defense spending. We spend more than the next twenty-six countries combined and twenty-five of them are allies. However, we are not even in the top ten of most important societal measurements. As an example, we are below the global average of literacy rates. We rank #13 in education, 54th for infant mortality, and lower in overall health care than most developed countries, and the list goes on…
We have a belief of who we are—a great Jeffersonian democracy, a nation of moral values, a welcoming nation of immigrants, an impartial judicial system where “no one is above the law.“ If the election has taught us anything it demonstrated who we really are --- a nation of white men able to look the other way as they elect a convicted, foul-mouth felon to the highest office as a representation of who we are as a nation. The glass ceiling for women remains firmly in place. The social network, long an achievement of the Great Society is threatened. Those that stand to be hurt the most by this administration’s policies stayed home and allowed white men to continue to rule. They convinced those of lesser circumstance that they too can be like those wealthy, white males as long as they stay in their place. Men continue to be afraid of women, and demand the subrogation of their rights. Sadly women continue to allow them to do so. Immigrants became the villains after we invited them to do our dirty work.
This election showed us who we really are, not who we profess to be. Our values, slogans and utterances of greatness and equality make for great reading but this election demonstrated otherwise.
As one says when disappointed with our team’s performance……
Wait ‘til next year!?