All you have to do is turn on any national TV station or internet news source to realize that the planet we live on can be hostile and dangerous. Stories from China to the Middle East to the U.S demonstrate the lack of human caring, kindness and basic civility. Racism, sexism, agism live on despite progress in a democratic society. Whether in rural and urban areas hateful prejudice and hostile discrimination exists in the attitudes of corporate cultures as well as in the blue collar workforce.
Mass media run a steady news stream about the struggles to achieve equality in the pursuit of happiness, often overshadowed by economic disparities and disparate value of what is or is not a human right. We hear about victims from religious, ethnic and economic wars and those from violent acts of serial murders, crimes of passion, random shootings, domestic abuse and emotional warfare in the workplace. How couldn't the human spirit be shattered?
Some people are left empty, jaded, desensitized to the continuous stream of hate and hostility. Others are fearful, angry and anxious to be seen, heard, respected, and valued. There is a growing impatience for change from extremists on the right and left, intolerance with differences and widening divide in American values. Public officials, celebrities, athletes aren't immune from acting ugly or looking the other way.
We life in the land of the free but can one person or a country's people truly be free if they live in fear of hate and violent acts of hostility?
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