I read an interesting tidbit recently about the London Times once posting a question to readers back at the turn of the twentieth century that asked, “What’s wrong with the world?” They received many responses with plenty of varying opinions as to what each thought was wrong and could be done to fix the state of where the world was heading at the time. I’m sure countless people would have just as much to say even now if this question got posed to the masses in a national publication. But, back then, there was one response in particular that stood out from the rest. It was from G.K. Chesterton, an English writer, poet, and philosopher. His answer was a mere four words that said, “Dear Sirs, I am.”, which I too feel I’d answer in the very same way.
Presently, especially in the United States, it’s quite obvious that there is notable division amongst a good majority of people and everyone seems to have an opinion on what needs to change to make our country better. There’s one school that says so long as we get Trump out of office and Biden gets elected everything will improve, while the other school of thought says so long as Trump stays in office and Biden loses the election, everything will be ok. This belief is no different as one makes their way down the political pipeline from the Supreme Court to the Senate and House, and into the governing bodies from within each state. Countless factions of people at every level believing the answer to that question on what’s wrong with our world is solely tied to someone getting into a political seat or being removed, or some policy getting enacted or being repealed, and so on and so forth. But, if you look back through history, this has never been the case and always been the illusion. I have tried so many times to convey this in my writing and when I talk with others, knowing that the only answer to that question is exactly how G.K. Chesterton answered it.
For the sake of argument, let’s say hypothetically Trump gets reelected. I have many friends who are going to be severely angry and maybe even shun those who supported his reelection. The same holds true if Biden gets elected. I know of a number of people who are going to be pissed and upset at those who supported his election. Sadly, there will be tension no matter who is in office for the next four years, so what’s the answer? The answer I’ve learned is to love a person no matter who they vote for. So long as I judge a person for their choices, I become the problem in the world and not the solution as to what’s wrong with it. The more I judge the world by saying it will only get better if “this” or “that’ happens, the more I avoid the real work of simply loving my neighbor as I would love myself.
While some have chosen to unfriend me because of my repeated stance of not officially taking a political side and not joining in some merry or rather unmerry bandwagon of protestation against one candidate versus another, I still choose to stand by my laurels and believe it really doesn’t matter who the next president will be, because so long as we continue to act like asses towards one another to put it bluntly, and the more we continue to judge each other and condemn each other, putting each other down for some belief or value, nothing will EVER get better in our world.
All it takes to add to what’s wrong with our world is two people to begin fighting over who should be the next president. All it takes to add to what’s wrong with our world is one person to begin judging another for their religious or spiritual stances. And all it takes to add to what’s wrong with our world is to start believing that I am right and you are wrong no matter what it’s in reference to. But to make this world a better place and to create unity amongst us all is to begin accepting and loving each other no matter what.
For as much as I may pump this unconditional love and acceptance message in much of my writing, I do more so to continue to deflate my ego which tries to convince me from time to time that the world would indeed become better if only “this” would happen. Ultimately, at the very core though, the problem with our world begins with me not blaming the world for the problem and thinking the world needs to change somehow to fix the problem, when the fix is, and has always been, within me…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
