Are you acting or taking action?
Are you role-playing or playing a role?
Use your time, treasure, or talent to help fix something important.
We are a diverse nation, and whether you think of it as a melting pot, jambalaya, or a salad, we are better when we honor and celebrate our differences and substantially weaker when we let others divide us because of them.
There will always be disagreements, and we needn’t shy away from arguments, but we must improve them. Hearsays, opinions, and ephemeral feelings wrapped in gossamer talking points of someone else’s design now pass as valid platforms. They are not. Actions, not rhetoric, strengthen positions.
It is okay, even helpful, to share in traditions, mark milestones, and progress with pomp and parade. However, we need not be afraid to question and revise some of our national mythology, often warped to fit the narrative of one populace or powerbase over others.
We too often forget the “United” part of our society. We reclaim it by being of service to each other. Imagine if we became quicker to aid and support and slower to judge, mock, or demonize.
There is no shortage of problems to solve, and there is no doubt an endless supply of discussion on priorities and merits of one over another. Do not let that stall you. Think of something, someplace, or some people you care about deeply. Then think about the skills and talents you have, great or small, and then deploy those talents where it makes sense for you. Begin making this imperfect place a more perfect union. It will not be easy, but your bit of elbow grease will help make things begin to shine. Choose unity over division, democracy over authoritarianism, love over hate.
Also published on Medium.