Divided by Design

Hey friends, how’ve you been lately? A lot is going on in the world right now. I vacillate between being informed and being overwhelmed. I wish I could just put my head in the sand and pretend evil isn’t encroaching on all sides, but our world seems to be on the precipice of implosion.

The political divide in our country continues to fracture, and the stories that befall the evening news seem designed to polarize. Every current event is filtered through personal bias, political affiliation, and tribalism. We’ve turned feral, and truth is subjective. Everything is a matter of perspective.

There’s a lot on my mind, but I try to stay apolitical; everyone thinks I’m on their side. In many ways, I am. Mostly, I abhor nearly all politicians and consider them vile liars driven by power, money, and pride. Left or right, I’m indifferent. I see no difference in practice. Something needs to change, but I’m not sure exactly what.

Maybe that’s our problem as a nation: we are always looking for some figurehead to solve our problems. We pretend our votes matter every four years and put unrealistic hope in flawed humans. We load them up with our concerns and then sit back and wait for that ever-elusive “change” to occur. Here’s the problem, though: we forget we have personal agency to make a difference.

If the recent release of a set of heavily redacted files from a certain individual has taught us anything, it’s that putting hope in these people is an exercise in absurdity. Stop waiting for someone in a high position to make the world better. They won’t. They can’t. Evil can’t do good; it’s not in its nature. They’re just there to control and distract you. If you want to see something change in the world, be the change you want to see.

The division we’re experiencing is by design. A nation divided is a nation that is easily conquered. When we are distracted by the othering of America, we forget that unity is our strength. We fail to realize these people work for us, not the other way around. They only have the power we give them, so why have we made them gods? The people in power are no different than you and me.

Change starts at home. I live in North Carolina, and although what I see happening in Minneapolis right now is more than a little concerning, what can I do about it? By becoming distracted by that sleight of hand elsewhere, I’m losing perspective on my own community. When we are so laser-focused on issues that don’t really involve us personally, we fail to act on the things we can control. I’m also not saying we turn a blind eye to human rights issues. Clearly, there has been justified outrage regarding the overreach of our government in many American cities lately.

Do you want to make the world a better place? Start by helping your neighbors. Get to know the folks who live in your neighborhood. What are their needs, their concerns, their dreams? Can you facilitate solutions to any of those things? If so, you’ve changed their world, and the ripples will move through your community, thereby making the world better one person at a time.

I know this is a simplistic view, but the alternative is apathy. I’m trying so hard to keep that from taking root any deeper than it’s already entrenched in my brain. The world isn’t a bad place. Our country isn’t irreparable. It’s going to take some work. Step one is to learn to love your neighbor, or at least try to like them. Regardless of where we fall politically, we all want what we think is best for our country. Maybe it’s time we stop shouting at one another and start listening.

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Stan Lake is a writer, photographer, and filmmaker currently living in Bethania, North Carolina with his wife Jess and their house full of animals. He split his time growing up between chasing wildlife and screaming on stages in hardcore bands you’ve never heard of. He has been published by Dead Reckoning Collective, The Havok Journal, Reptiles Magazine, Lethal Minds Journal, and many others. He filmed and directed a documentary called “Hammer Down” about his 2005 deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in with Alpha Battery 5-113^th of the NC Army National Guard. You can find his books, collected works, and social media accounts at www.stanlakecreates.com

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.