Heather Grabin
Editor
Over the last few days many questions have been asked in this country. Very few answers have been given.
Whether it was a true act of terrorism or a government conspiracy, what happened in California last week should be a wake-up call of human nature, not of government policies.
Instead of addressing the big picture, our political figures immediately began scattering the thoughts of the people in this nation by jumping on personal platforms of gun rights, religious freedoms, and immigration protocol failures.
While it is true that these are and have been hot topics of concern in the United States, the ultimate truth behind it all is that humans have a dark side. It is that dark side that makes mass murder possible. It is that dark side that allows atrocities to continue, and that dark side that spreads lies and personal agenda throughout this country.
We have become desensitized to the “bad” of the world until it strikes our personal communities. We cluck to ourselves when we see tragic events on the evening news and are thankful the story didn’t occur where we live or we relish in spreading the news when it involves those in our town—some claiming to not believe it and others swearing they knew the truth all along.
As American citizens we have no control over the big picture. We cannot prevent or promote the true agenda of our government all we can do is cross our fingers and hope that the political figures we vote for are who they portray to be.
True, we have the right to protest, the right to boycott, the right to free speech and the right to a free press but, in all honesty, do we really? This country has fallen victim to elitism, and the elite change according to the trends placed upon the people by the national media.
Every individual in this country is being manipulated into the feelings we have. The proverbial pot is being stirred constantly by individuals that have no idea what it is like to be a “commoner” in this country, and with no desire to live as the average every day American lives.
No more is the America that stood united together in the past. The America that believed in true personal freedom is dead and I fear there is no resurrecting it. The dark side of human nature is winning, all because it thrives off of strife.
“These are the times that try men’s souls.”—Thomas Paine
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”—George Lucas, Star Wars
“We didn’t start the fire. It was always burning since the world’s been turning. We didn’t start the fire. No we didn’t light it, but we tried to fight it.”—Billy Joel, We Didn’t Start the Fire
