Mark DeLap
                                The Bladen Journal

Mark DeLap

The Bladen Journal

ON OUR PLAYGROUND

Who all of a sudden decided to spout out and out lies in the media? And are we all like sheep that find it so easy to go astray and take things at face value?

At what point did things get out of control in America? Has it always been this vile, and we just didn’t realize it until we had access to the horrors as we do now with an instant internet?

When did America lose its innocence and had we really ever had it? Think back to the classic films depicting the 20s in America. Mob control was out of control and fear was rampant.

We can go back further to the untamed west where gun control was taking control of your emotions so your gun wouldn’t get you into trouble. It must have been a scary and uncertain time.

And move into the 30s with the Great Depression or the 40s with WWII and the 50s with Korea and the 60’s-70s with Vietnam. Then move into the Middle East and the wars we still fight here in the 21st century. Scary places.

Each generation had its own set of challenges and fears and problems without solutions. But here we are. We became 248 years old this past Fourth of July. Relatively a fledgling nation when you consider the dynasties that traversed history in places like China, Russia and Rome. But nevertheless, we made it.

Each era had fears they could not conquer and challenges that they left on the table for the succeeding generations. We will, I assume be the same. We will leave problems for our kids to solve as humanity further evolves. The frustration comes when we try to solve their future problems with tools that haven’t been invented yet. I am convinced their tools will come, fashioned by them to address their challenges.

Although, if we leave lies and unsolvable problems on the table, I pray they will be smart enough to figure out that we “made up things” to “sell things” to “people who would buy into anything” because the root of all our evil was the love of money and making it without a conscience.

I don’t know that the next generation will be necessarily smarter, but they have more knowledge and more years of trial and error behind them. With each crop of babies born, they have more substance to build upon. We have added daily to the foundation since 1492 before we could conceive of a new nation.

Each generation will have their questionable politicians. Each generation will face seemingly unstoppable evil in the world. Each generation will have the option to change things for the better or worse as they may become consumed with the betterment of selfish nature.

I will say that things today are more, “out of the box,” and in full view. A challenge in and of itself. 20 years ago that would have created insane chaos, but because this generation has evolved with it, they will learn to live in it and deal with it. With new problems come new changes.

We’re not special. We’re not under any better or worse conditions than our ancestors. But what will determine our survival is if we can adapt to the changes, continue to educate ourselves and find solutions together.

Or have we grown lazy with all the labor-saving technology and instant information without having to do research. We take what the internet and AI and the media says as truth without question. So, they keep lying. Because they can.

Bottom line is a lack of accountability.

Too many people are wasting time finding who was to blame rather than who’s going to come up with a solution. Part of it is in the realization that we cannot stop what happened yesterday. What we can do is work to create practical solutions to yesterday’s problem so that tomorrow when it arises again, we can answer that call.

Blaming must not be tomorrow’s solution. Making someone pay for your pain is not tomorrow’s solution. Declaring war on an ethnicity, a race, a political doctrine or all people involved in a profession is not tomorrow’s solution. Screaming at a protest rally is not tomorrow’s solution.

We know what it’s not. We know what hasn’t worked. We need to roll up our sleeves and go learn something now… something we don’t know. And we need to learn it together. And we need to learn it quickly as an ominous door is trying to close on a democratic America.

What you see is either the problem or the solution. Change your focus and you may see something differently. You may become the answer. You may become the miracle we so need in a society that has become weakened and sickly. What do you see, what can you do and how will you change your corner of the world?

Mark DeLap is a journalist, photographer and the editor and general manager of the Bladen Journal. To email him, send a message to: mdelap@www.bladenjournal.com