The 3 Sins of the Everyday American

*Allow me preface these thoughts by saying, I do classify myself in this category (Everyday American) - at least in this instance.

I have just been thinking lately about what kinds of "black holes" we get pulled into, at least in our society. And this is what I see:

1. lack of interest
2. poor communication
3. failure to take responsibility

I feel like most of the "injustices" that occur in this culture are somehow related to these ideas. And I catch myself in them quite frequently.

LACK OF INTEREST: Now, don't get me wrong, we are very interested...in ourselves. We have every kind of self-help book possible, it is a common occurrence for someone to regularly see a psychologist/life coach/clergy for personal problems. And the amount of money we pour into unnecessary medical procedures, cosmetics, appearance (clothes and hair), diet and exercise programs (that we rarely actually use) is absurd. But true interest (spending time and effort) in G-d, scripture and other people (yes, even those who are not our immediate family or close friends) is far too little and inconsistent. We are generally not interested in the important life or death issues that surround us daily. What a shame.

POOR COMMUNICATION: OK, now, I am a witness to the fact that most people I know my age (college/young adult) are abundantly better at communicating what we really want to say than those who preceded us, but that is not my point. We have specialized the art of communicating what best serves us and not the absolute truth. We use communication to protect ourselves and hopefully "outtalk" the other person, so that the end of the conversation will prove our beginning point. We also spend way too much time justifying our actions instead of hearing out the other person's true feelings ...and sometimes, even our own true feelings. What a shame.

FAILURE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY: This ties into the previous idea of justifying ourselves and our actions. But it entails more. We have this very scary idea that we are victims of circumstance. "I am this way because of: my parents, my upbringing, my financial situation, my job, my enemies, the enemy....." We could keep that up forever. There will always be a multitude of outside influences to blame our actions on - but those are generally not to blame. We are responsible for our "yeses" and "nos." We make the decisions of how we will live, and contrary to popular belief, I believe we make the decisions on how people will perceive us. No, we cannot be held responsible for what decisions people make in their own minds, but we are responsible for the decisions we make daily that affect their perceptions. Anyway, I digress. I have noticed, at least in the little world that I live in, that people generally do not want to take responsibility for something that their decisions/actions made happen. What a shame.

So, I feel shamed now. I don't mean to make you feel shamed. But, I do like to see the reality of who I am, so that I can make the all too important decisions of changing - -for, behold, HE comes.