Rural Issues: Broken people, or broken system?

The system isn’t broken. People are. My husband shared that thought with me one evening last week as we watched Leland Vittert on NewsNation interviewing guests about the Nashville school shooting and the 19-year-old Georgia boy who was tortured by “friends” at a party.

We had just watched a report showing migrants being smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border and another where the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he wouldn’t call the situation at the border a “crisis.”

It is hard to wrap my mind around all of these horrific events that are happening in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Certainly murder, mayhem and criminal activities have been part of life throughout history, but the deterioration of ethics, proliferating political polarization and diminished social skills seems to have occurred overnight.

I believe those who crafted our Constitution and laid out a plan for three branches to ensure the government is effective and the rights of the citizenry are protected did a stellar job.

It’s our own fault if we are so blinded by partisanship that we are incapable of electing the most competent men and women to leadership roles.

It is our own fault that we are so afraid our children won’t like us that we throw discipline out the door, expect teachers to raise them, but will not allow the school system to discipline them.

I’m using a broad stroke here in a painting the picture, for I know there are many qualified leaders in our state legislatures and in the U.S. Congress.

I know full well that there are plenty of people out there who have or do parent their children so they understand there are always consequences for bad behavior.

Unfortunately, there are not enough of the right people in the right places. There are many good people afraid they might offend someone if they say or do something, so instead of saying or doing something, they stay home.

There are too many people out there who are incapable of having an effective face-to-face conversation where seeds for credibility and trust are sown.

Too many people no longer make eye contact or build real relationships where sensitive issues can be addressed without someone either needing to go hide in a cry room, or go full-on rage mode. Staring at a screen and pretending you are someone you are not is “easier.”

Sound, practical judgment is often perceived as narrow-minded or old-fashioned. On the other hand, suggestions for doing things differently is often met with suspicion and disregard.

Too many times, if we fail to make someone feel special because they are different in some way, then we are accused of being non-inclusive. If we do celebrate their uniqueness, we are often called out for discrimination.

As an overall society, we’re pretty messed up. Yet, we are blessed beyond belief when you consider life outside of these United States.

Our forefathers built a strong foundation, knowing we’d probably do everything we could to mess it up.

The system isn’t broken. We, the people, can do better.