Monday, January 30, 2012

Of Salads and Dysfunction -- Part 5 of Twelve-step Program for an American Recovery

It was Abraham Lincoln who said, “A nation divided against its self cannot stand.” He was speaking in a context of civil war so his words carried that weight. The statement demands consideration in today’s context as well, and it brings me to my fifth step in re-establishing an America of promise – we have to start thinking of ourselves as Americans first


I am a woman, but I am pre-eminently an American – my female DNA is a choice God made for me and does not determine my political allegiances. I am an American. I have Danish-Dutch-Czech-Swiss ancestry, but that is just interesting, conversational fodder, not an issue on which I vote.  I am a senior citizen, which mostly affects my speed – how quickly I can unbend after sitting a while, how long it takes me to do my make-up, how fast I drive – but it doesn’t make me part of a voting block. I am an individual – an American.