Op-Ed

I am sick to death of the divisiveness in this country. A congregation is shattered by gunfire, and the conversation is over a piece of cloth. Our society is rapidly reverting to a feudal system not seen since the dark ages, and the debate is focused on gay marriage. Our bodies and our planet are being willfully poisoned by ruthless corporations, and the discussion turns to celebrity gossip.

Republicans and Democrats wage vicious public attacks against each other, yet behind closed doors the same money greases greedy palms.

One-hundred-and-fifty years later, the Civil War is still being fought.

The United States represents five-percent of the world's population, yet maintains twenty-five-percent of the world's prison population. Thousands of men and women, disproportionately young and black, languish in jail awaiting trial, or serving time for non-violent drug charges, while privatized prisons sue the government for underperformance of occupancy.

The failed and punitive "War On Drugs" is promulgated only to feed bodies into the maw of privatized prisons hungry for flesh.

The so-called one-percenters sneer from the decks of mega-yachts as the rest of us sink or swim in turbulent seas rapidly losing the ability to sustain life.

Only fools fight in a burning house, but religions stink of gasoline.

Those who believe in peace and love are pitted against those who believe in violence and hate.

We stand on the cusp of new technology that, depending on how it is used, will either liberate humanity or enslave it.

In the face of enlightenment stands the shadow of tyranny.

These are not new issues, but somehow the stakes seem higher than ever before.

It is constantly said that despite its ills, America is still the last best hope. If this is true, then sadly, I am forced to conclude that there is no hope.