Vol. 2.8 "The Better Angels of our Nature"

Those were the closing words used by Abraham Lincoln in his first inaugural speech in 1861 when the country was divided over the slavery issue.  It seems appropriate at this moment, when our country is  torn by ideologies, to talk about those "angels".  If we ever needed to be using the better part of our natures, it would be now.

I believe that everyone of us has a good side to our nature and an equally dark side.  Most of the time, the good nature is the only one that is on display -- we try to keep that other side to ourselves.  However, it seems more and more that the dark side of our natures is on exhibit daily -- our elected officials, our government officials, our corporate executives and on and on.

And it is being allowed...by all of us.  We expected our elected officials to be watching out our best interests, we expected that federal regulators would be regulating all of the industries that they were supposed to -- financial institutions, off shore oil rigs, etc...now even those attached to the secret service are no longer regulating themselves...there are no watchdogs anymore looking at for anything but their own best interests.

No one wants to step up and tell the truth and hold those accountable for their bad acts...only when the media glare is so intense that they have to...and with as many scandals happening these days, it is easy for the rest to just slip way unnoticed.  If overseers were to really tell the truth about much of anything they would be forced out of their jobs and probably black listed -- their livelihoods threatened....unless they could score a cushy job with a big fat pay check as a reward for looking the other away when they were supposed to be paying attention.

I think it is about time for me to say this loud and clear, folks, WE ARE ON OUR OWN.  I don't think that we can rely on anyone to be "fair and balanced" as is said by Fox News on the radio.  It is incumbent  on all of us to be and demand "those better angels of our nature", if we are going to mend and heal this country.  And we must demand it of ourselves too.  Perhaps many of those people in positions of power may have a reason that they operate from their dark "shadow" side...it just may be in their nature to do so.

That's a heavy concept....more on that subject soon.