Profound changes have been occurring in the United States of America during my lifetime over the past three-quarters of a century. Recapping the progressive nature of all these changes would require describing considerably more than what I want to write here now.
Most recently our Supreme Court has ruled in favor of individual freedoms for all Americans to wed their loved partner. This act will result in significant benefits for many individuals who deservedly will now become full citizens.
Another Supreme Court ruling has made it possible for this richest of nations to continue to provide health care for some of our citizens who might otherwise have been without such assistance. More plan refinement must continue for the ultimate benefit of all.
Other issues involving symbols associated by so many with racial oppression are finally being relegated to a long overdue status of significantly reduced prominence as evidenced beginning with South Carolina's Confederate flag relocation. Tragically, the life of many innocents allegedly taken by a hate-filled mentally-warped-thinking youth with allegiance to that very flag has been the impetus to arouse Americans to examine our morality on this issue.
Perhaps now we'll -- once again -- following another killing disaster -- seriously consider action to curtail the role of guns in our society. We might even want to re-examine the use of the death penalty in our criminal justice system for all, but especially for the sake of wrongly convicted innocents.
We still have many important domestic issues to resolve over which we have some control and must act on them. Clearly there are other unpredictable external forces we're unable to control taking actions that we will simultaneously need to address. We must demand those elected legislators mired in obsessive ideology to the degree they neglect realistic practical action recognize compromise is an art they must acquire and practice for us to have an effective government.
The Supreme Court still needs to reexamine their erroneous decree interpreting corporations to basically have person status. We, the people, have reaped the lopsided results allowing our political system to be corrupted even more by big money -- this in a time when such inequity exists between most citizens and the small obscenely wealthy percentage of those absorbing the bulk of all profits.
History is fraught with lessons of what can occur in a nation where such financial disparity is present. Those who seek to be our government leaders, plus our nation's financial and corporate leaders would be well-advised to re-establish parity with citizens. We citizens would be wise to take more responsibility for our government and its actions so discontent does not build to a potentially destructive force imperiling our democracy and republic. Forces exist that all too readily want to usurp our way of life, belief in individual freedom and free speech.
