I have often wondered why things seem to go so well for me and
my family. We don’t have the problems that afflict so many others. Our children
are relatively well adjusted and we did not have any problems of drug addiction
or issues similar to that which often accompany the teenage, rebellious years.
We have lived in comfort and, I dare say, luxury for a good portion of our
adult lives and have never really experienced need to the extent that many
face. When all things are considered, our lives have been quite comfortable and
relatively free of difficulties and trials.
Recently I watched a series of documentaries detailing the events that
led to and that eventually brought to an end World War II. The very first thing
that captures your attention, is the unspeakable carnage that the war brought
to the peoples of the world, especially in Europe and Asia. By the most
accurate estimates, nearly 70 million people lost their lives in a war which
was unleashed by the maniacal delusions of Adolf Hitler and the imperial
designs of Japan and Italy. For more than a decade, most of the peoples of the
world were embroiled in a war that consumed the better part of a whole
generation of young men. Men who in most cases had only begun to live before
they met their demise.
Recently, conservative commentator David French wrote in a National Review article titled "We’re Not in a Civil War, but We Are Drifting Toward Divorce," about the increasing polarization of our citizenry.
According to Mr. French, our nation has seen a continuing trend, which has
accelerated in the last 20 years, of people self-segregating into like-minded
enclaves around the country. If you look, for example, at the now famous
electoral map, you will understand what he means. The country is sharply
divided between red and blue states, a fact that indicates not only what
the politics of a particular region are, but also its general ideology.
