A crazed man is now responsible for at least three families whose lives have suffered a tragedy which will forever change their future. Obviously mentally deranged, he was able to obtain an assault rifle with enough ammunition to keep the police in a standoff for several hours. This man is a home-grown terrorist; he is not a Syrian refugee.

Perhaps more devastating, at least for me, is the murder of 52-year-old Julia Brightwell of Biloxi, Mississippi.

Ms. Brightwell was a waitress in a Biloxi waffle house. Johnny Max Mount was a customer Saturday morning. After Ms. Brightwell served other customers, asking them about their Thanksgiving holiday, she saw Mount smoking a cigarette in violation of a city ordinance. She walked over to Mount and asked him to extinguish his cigarette. Mount’s response was to pull out a handgun and shoot Ms. Brightwell in the head, killing the woman.

Do these two incidents define America today? Have we become a nation of people filled with anger and hatred; quick to take violent action against our brothers and sisters? Have we allowed ourselves to accept emotions as our daily rule ignoring intelligent thought and just plain common sense?

America was once the greatest country in the world. We were a compassionate, tolerant nation which truly believed in freedom and justice for all. We accepted the beliefs and traditions of our neighbors, and practiced our religion privately. We cared more about education than the right to own weapons of mass destruction. The health and welfare of our nation’s people precluded corporate profits. There were no mass shootings on a daily basis; the murder of a single person made the headlines in our local paper. Our government wasn’t perfect, but we believed that it was making an honest effort to improve the lives of all Americans. We proudly recited the ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ daily in our schools. We stood at sporting events with hats off and loudly sang our National Anthem with a lump in our throats and a tear in our eyes.

When did it all change? What is the root cause which has changed America and removed the label ‘great?’

I believe it can be directly traced back to the change in our politics. It began during the Bill Clinton Administration when our politicians began verbal attacks on their opponents, placing labels on individuals, and inciting the weakness of emotions in the form of anger towards others opposed to our personal beliefs.

From the very day George W. Bush was elected our nation began to suffer a great division. No longer did we have two political parties who argued over ideologies and the direction of our nation, we had the ‘Hatfields’ and the ‘McCoys.’ Our government was experiencing the beginnings of distrust and a refusal to compromise on the important issues. Politicians sought power and with that power an opportunity to force all Americans to accept their ideology.

Then came the cowardly attacks on 9/11. The loss of thousands of innocent lives was a tragedy for all Americans, but a satisfying victory for a small group of men who hate the actions of our government.

Politicians grasped a huge opportunity to control the minds of some Americans and easily capture votes. This tactic was insuring that our nation lived in fear. Every speech made by our president included ‘9/11,’ as he warned us of the possibility of another attack. The Administration decided to invade Afghanistan and capture or kill the leader of this terrorist group. When they discovered that he was hiding in a cave in Pakistan, just across the border from Afghanistan, our soldiers were told to stand down. We continue to have military presence in Afghanistan today.

In 2003, our leaders made the decision to invade the sovereign nation of Iraq. It claimed that it’s leader was harboring our enemies and was developing weapons which could be used to attack our nation. None of this was the truth.

Our nation was experiencing a division between its people which it had not suffered since the Civil War. Politicians took advantage of the situation, and the creation of ‘red’ and ‘blue’ states began. Accusations, lies, and misdirection not only allowed some to procure seats in Congress, they pitted brother against brother. As FOX Noise became a propaganda machine for one party, its faux-journalists spread not only fear, but hatred and the label of ‘evil’ for opponents of the party they served. A talk radio show host vehemently lied and used emotional buttons to keep voters in that party’s flock. Both remain active today.

Lobbyists purchased Congress. The NRA lobby joined the party of fear tactics and told two lies; everyone must own a gun to protect themselves, and the other party wants to repeal the second amendment.

This same party began an effort to nullify all the forward movement achieved during the civil rights era. Hatred was now in bloom and racism was on the rise.

The Christian religious right joined a single party and influenced its platform. Soon millions of Americans believed that if an individual was not Christian, that person was not an American. Against our founding father’s wishes, religion had become part of our political system.

Compassion has been removed from our daily lives. We have learned to accept daily murder, racial attacks, hate crimes, domestic violence, and distrust as our way of life.

If you believe I am wrong, simply listen to the man leading in the polls of one party. He is filled with hate, racism, and bigotry. I too am fearful, I have a deep fear he may be the new face of what once was a great country.

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

Source

Photo Courtesy of Antoine Gady

Author’s Page http://www.amazon.com/By-James-turnage/e/B00LOCJ2Z2