Friday, December 19, 2008

The Root and the Fix

Our country has many issues right now. There are numerous opportunities for improvement and the debate rages on concerning the actions to get us out of the soup. Whether or not you look forward to the Obama administration, let's take a step back and be realistic. Can the government fix these issues? They can implement short term fixes but the long term solutions must come from addressing the root cause of the problems.

Look at the picture above. Take any issue that the government tries to fix (crime, drugs, economy, etc.) and break it down to the core. The lowest level involves you and me-what occurs within our hearts and minds and the breadth of differences between us.

Is it too far fetched to imagine a United States where improvement comes from the bottom up and not the top down? With the power of our vote, we can build more accountability at the top. With our written and spoken words, we can give constructive feedback to our decision makers. If each of us lived purposed lives, we would systematically start to improve communities, then counties, then states, and finally the country as a whole.

Yes, it sounds a bit hoky but it will never have a chance if we don't even talk about it.

If you notice the picture above, I break towns down by churches. I see ministers having an incredible role as we move forward in 2009. Many people are suffering right now. Folks have lost jobs and homes. Many people are at low points. What a wonderful time for people to know that a better world awaits. People need to hear that this all shall pass. Even in the midst of profound negativity, opportunities surround us.

We need strong messengers right now to spread these encouraging words.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Change can only occur if there has been an acceptance that change is necessary. As long as my problem is the fault of someone else or circumstances or the environment then encouraging words are only words and do not allow me to accept that change is necessary. Where these words come from does not matter.
However if a strong leader can help each of us to accept responsibility for how each of us lives our life and encourage us to bring purpose and meaning to that life then his/her encouraging words can be the mirror that reflects that purpose and meaning.
Today too many of us turn the mirror away from us in order to force others to look at themselves. With acceptance of who we are comes the ability to stand before that mirror and encourage others to join us.

Steve Wallace

Stephen said...

The country needs strong leaders right now.
Who are they?

Anonymous said...

Stephen, the strong Leaders are US. While we cannot "save" the entire world, we can certainly start in our own Communities. We the people...can lead!

Our new President offers hope, but we know he is limited in what he can do, as a puppet-head, or figurehead.

Still, a new era offers hope. Riding on the coattail of hope we should be very active in supporting and benefiting our own Neighborhoods.

LowcountryToday.com just started something really neat, where they encourage all businesses to "Adopt a Nonprofit," be it a church, group, rescue, shelter, whatever.

If that were to be accomplished, we could solve a lot of our own problems without any governmental interference.

It's a great idea, anyway.