What in the world is going on? We’d better find the answer soon.

I am neither Republican nor Democrat; conservative nor liberal; socialist nor progressive. I am a citizen of this country.

I am saddened and appalled with what is happening in my country. I am hurt and angry at the violence in Charlottesville and the hatred behind it. I am mystified that a horse at USC and a sportscaster at ESPN are attacked because of a similarity in their names to events in history. Does anyone believe these actions could make our country a better place?

I worry that our leaders are more concerned with Twitter hits than the governance of this country. I am concerned that civil discussion between friends and political opponents is no longer possible. Seems that we can no longer agree to disagree and then move forward toward a solution that is a result of compromise because compromise is considered bad.

I do hope that both ends of the political continuum start moving back toward the center so, rather than banned speech, there is meaningful discourse, and violent riots could be peaceful protest.

To quote Mother Teresa: “I want you to be concerned about your next-door neighbor. Do you know your next-door neighbor?” She also said “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.”

As trite as it may sound, each of us has to be willing to open our hearts and minds to new ideas, and work to better our little corner of the world. If we did, we might bring change to the entire world.

This story was originally published September 3, 2017 at 3:16 PM with the headline "What in the world is going on? We’d better find the answer soon.."