Short term: Get back in the habit of writing and improving my skill. For the longer term, good question. And every writer should ask and answer it. I am writing now because I am very concerned about the future of my country. I have always thought of America as an ideal that we will never achieve but always strive for. We will not achieve its ideals because we are human. As James Madison said, if men were angels no government would be necessary. But we are not. Our system of democracy seems best suited to managing the conflicting goals and values of our people as long as it is not abused and overpowered by a minority. I fear we are nearing a point at which those ideals are seriously threatened.
I have to do something to express my concern and my anger over this situation. I served for two years in the military but that was long ago and not helpful today. I can go to protests as one of millions and write my Congressional representative as one of thousands but I need to do something more personal.
Writing also helps me sort out my own thoughts. I try not to react to my first instinct or at least to question it fairly quickly. Writing forces me to work through my reactions at a more moderate pace. It also lets me reflect on the values of others. I’m retired and have the luxury of time to do so.
I assume that all Americans have their own lives to lead and don’t spend hours each day checking sources and reading news. I believe most can challenge their own viewpoints and want to learn and have some curiosity regarding why people make different decisions than they do. I think most people have some curiosity beyond “how the hell can they think that?” And even if they start there, some will ask the question seriously and be interested at least in the discussion.
Where do I get information that informs my thoughts? Nowhere unless there are multiple independent sources of the same story. My main sources are The Guardian, BBC, AP, Reuters, NBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, WSJ, Foxnews.com, WaPo, NYTimes, Politico, the Hill, Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, Wired and a few others in no particular order.
I hope you are interested!