“The person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” – Chinese Proverb
When I started this small blog over ten months ago, I really only had two goals. The first was to have an outlet where I could share stories about two of my favorite subjects (lean manufacturing and submarines).
Today marks the official 200th post.
Theleansubmariner (TLS) has had over 31,000 views with a single day high of over 600. According to my web service, we have been seen on every continent and have only been blocked in China, Cuba, Iran, North Korean and some other small places I really wouldn’t want to go to anyway. Greenland has also not checked in as I have written on a previous page. I am not sure they even have computers no less the internet. I have informed the UN (informally of course).
The second goal was kind of vague but has been evolving. I wanted to make this a place where I could speak about how great America can be and things that I perceive are inhibiting or destroying that exceptionalism. That is not to be exclusive of other countries that are exceptional in their own way. I have been to over 650 cities around the world and there are some very wonderful places there.
America has always been something different for me though. Obviously it is the land of my birth and second to being a Christian, being American is my most important distinction as a person. I was willing to give my life for her and still am.
I fly my flag in the front yard (properly lighted) and only stow for sea when the weather is so bad it would be imprudent not too. I still get choked up when I see service members returning to their families at the end of a tour.
America has not always been perfect but it has the capability to make course corrections when they are needed. We have been tested and we have survived.
Division
The word division is complicated. It can be used in so many ways that it’s hard to describe it adequately in a short story. Math, sports, the military, government and even a group of people can all fall under the power of division.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/division
United we stand, divided we fall has been a constant theme throughout history. Those who would unite us recognize the great power it can produce.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/17/obama-tax-plan-millionaires_n_967861.html
Those who would divide also recognize the power division can bring and use any and all methods to do so for the gain of either themselves or those who ultimately succeed.
Can you un-ring a bell? Can a cannon once fired regain its shot and noise? Can division on such a grand scale be healed? I will leave that up to you to answer for yourself. I don’t think they can be undone.
With the amount of division and the powerful forces behind that division, healing can’t even begin. Every time a good heart or sincere effort is made, human nature rises up and beats it back. Foolish people use division and achieve even more foolish results. Their ambitions may achieve short term wishes but in the long term, they have stolen from the future and weakened the very thing they seek to gain.
It’s easy to get discouraged sometimes when you see that the very leadership that is supposed to unite us is the chief instigator of the cultural divisions we are seeing take hold.
http://hamptonroads.com.nyud.net/2012/05/beating-church-and-brambleton
My experience with people that are dividers is that eventually they find that they hit a wall. Without the strength of the whole, they soon find themselves lodged up against that wall.
Faced with that obstacle, only a fool would keep shouting “Forward, Forward”.
Only an idiot would try and convince themselves that “we just need more time”. The obstacle will only grow bigger and the strength will only diminish.
Are we lost? Is there no hope? Will America be destroyed from within?
Probably. But in some ways, maybe that’s not such a bad thing. If we have evolved to a place where the leading voices are the biggest destroyers of liberty and freedom how long will the tree last anyway?
There is another definition of division that actually offers hope for us all.
In horticulture, division is defined as any type of propagation in plants in which a new plant grows from a separated part of the original
The old plant is dying. It has been split apart so many times that the strength it once had is sapping away. The “cells” are no longer capable of growing and passing that growth because they have become convinced that self preservation is more important than our shared growth. The stalk recognizes that the leaves are no longer providing their function and the roots are being consumed from within and from without.
A new plant can grow and flourish though. In biology, new things often depend on detritus. The weaknesses and inefficiencies from the old plant will wither away. In nature, the strong surpasses the weak. In most cases, the strong eventually replaces the inadequate.
The separation from the decaying plant will be the hard part. Even a fool can see that the pent up frustrations caused by so many years of division are causing anger and callousness on a scale never before seen. This could be a testing period that will determine if even a new plant can survive. I am convinced it will. This plant should actually grow back into a tree… the tree of liberty.
There can be no more hyphenated Americans if this tree is to survive. Man and women can equally grow and prosper. Some will be richer and some will not. But they all make up the united strength of this new life.
