What Matters

Grave. Photo by Joe Mabel

If you ask people what really matters, they’ll provide different answers.  God, love, family, stopping to smell the roses, success, fame, happiness, making a difference…

There are billions of people on this planet.  You will never interact with most of them in any way.  Most people haven’t even glimpsed half of the people who live in their town, much less their state, their country, the world.  Twitter and Facebook, television and radio expand our footprint, but not as much as it seems.  Most people are completely invisible to you.

This does not diminish their importance.

That is why I chose to hunt down international stories.  The idea was to try to have some pieces to break away from purely being D.C. politics most of the time.  While D.C. politics unites us all, they are not our rulers and they have not earned the right to command our attention 25/8.

The justified outrage over Trump’s capitulating conference today, the backstabbing of May, the undermining of NATO, some Republican Congressmen conspiring to oust Rosenstein… these need attention, but they aren’t the only things that matter.

There were bombings in Pakistan.  Riots in Haiti and Iraq.  Catastrophic flooding in Japan… which is now facing a heat wave that’s killed some and is hampering recovery efforts.  Oh, and a miniature therapy horse survived being washed away and wound up on a roof. (News.com.au)

I didn’t cover the horse.  There are many stories I don’t cover, not because I don’t want to but because I’m limited on time, as we all are.  There are stories of pain and of joy all over the world.  The same day they saved some children from the cave in Thailand, a woman fell six stories to her death in an indoor mall. (Khaosodenglish)

Every one of these stories, covered and uncovered, is important because the people involved matter.  Those are human lives, people with hopes and fears, family and memories and experiences.  And many of them have fantastic potential, the ability to make lives better on this planet.

Another thing that matters: leaving a better world to your descendants.

That should, in any sane world, lead to America.  The government that was constructed centuries ago has triggered a betterment of the human condition like no other creation or discovery in history.  The culture that developed was a function of that government, and it can change, but the system needs to be promoted.  Our success has inspired other countries to emulate us.  Not our culture necessarily, but the tenets of freedom and liberty that better the world.  Viewing the United States by how much wealth is dispersed among the public is petty, myopic and ultimately self-defeating.  Our system of government matters.

Our government works best when we’re encouraging others to follow our best examples.  We flourish when we recognize the potential in others, and aid them when it is plausible.  The reason we have international enemies is not simply to have a foil for our trade and diplomatic efforts but because we are trying to raise the standard of the world, while others are trying to oppress and steal for their personal aggrandizement.  Dictators and tyrants are not to be admired but fought, at every opportunity.

What matters?  The cherished memories of loved ones passed.  Long moments of relaxation on a sofa with a cat by your side or a dog’s head in your lap.  The relief as a team of young boys is freed from a cave or a stolen child is returned to its parents… and the sadness as a diver dies trying to save the children or a toddler was shown to be in the custody of a serial abuser or violent felon and will rightfully not be returned.  We’re part of a large world, and as much as it may seem overwhelming sometimes, we need to take in as much of it as we possibly can.

Truth matters.  Compassion matters.  Everything – good or bad – matters, and it’s up to us to decide which sides we want to take.  We were granted a glorious legacy by our ancestors, and I am thrilled that this website exists and can try to remind people of that fact.

We don’t have much time.  We’re all wandering toward the grave, every one of us throughout the world, and when we reach it our time is done.  Please help me to keep things in perspective, to spread the word, and to welcome everyone in here of all philosophical persuasions.  It seems apparent that our leaders in Washington are more interested in fomenting discord than they are in providing an example of liberty and civility for the world.  Change has to start somewhere.  Let it be here.

About the opinions in this article…

Any opinions expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this website or of the other authors/contributors who write for it.

About AlienMotives 1991 Articles
Ex-Navy Reactor Operator turned bookseller. Father of an amazing girl and husband to an amazing wife. Tired of willful political blindness, but never tired of politics. Hopeful for the future.