Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones

Never in my memory can I recall a time when the political atmosphere was so poisoned. This country has become so splintered into racial groups, interest groups, lobbies and special interest, that it is difficult for Americans to come to a consensus about almost anything. The era of political correctness and multiculturalism is reaping its' own consequences - The United States is losing it's own culture and our unity. Practically the only thing that Americans can speak with any civility about is sports probably because we know that the stakes are not really that high. We have become a nation of little communities of self interest; Liberals, Conservatives, Blue Dog Democrats, Pro-Lifers, Afro-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Women, Men, Gays, Veterans, Women's Rights Advocates and so on.
At this point in our history, Americans are more concerned with what benefits their particular group or interest than they are about being just Americans.
And the rhetoric is getting sharper -like dry tinder waiting to be set ablaze by a small spark. That spark is waiting to ignite and who knows what will set it off. The Health Care debate in this country highlights the difficulty that this country faces in coming to a consensus about anything.
When speaking about another generation that faced this difficulty; the generation before the Civil War, author Shelby Foote said that one of the reasons for the Civil War in this country was the failure of our politicians and leaders to do the thing we do best: Compromise. "Our whole government was founded on it", he said. The same patterns can be seen now. Former President Jimmy Carter recently stated that much opposition to President Obama was based on racial bigotry. Now, everyone is taking sides and the hostile talk begins anew.
In this era of political correctness, we are so afraid of offending someone or some group with words that we avoid dealing in Truth. The result of it is that we talk around all of our problems and don't confront the core issue. Our culture is dying due to divisions among us. Wasn't it President Abraham Lincoln who warned that "a house divided against itself cannot stand"? We should also remember that old adage that "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." We better take this to heart before it's too late.