Americans should take time to reflect
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Editor,
In August, we traveled to Africa, visiting Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The animals were amazing; the people were warm and intelligent; and the landscapes were impressive in their vastness. The entire experience was life-changing.
First, the food we ate in the bush camps was outstanding — lots of fresh fruits, veggies and salads along with chicken, fish and meats. Nothing processed, and nothing from a box or package. The Africans don’t eat sugar, and they don’t drink soda pop. We noticed that everyone we met had almost perfect, white teeth. Is there a connection here?
Everywhere we went, we were treated to singing of unrehearsed harmony and dancing which expressed exuberant joy. The Africans spoke English (as a second language) with ease and grammatical correctness. The schoolchildren we met were clean, well-dressed, and extremely polite. And although they are not rich with “stuff,” the people we met generally seemed to be happy and productive, even with the multitude of problems they face.
We experienced culture shock, not on our arrival in Africa, but on our arrival back home. One of the first news “stories” on “The Today Show” was about the color of Michelle Obama’s nail polish. Really? We noticed people addicted to their techy toys, oblivious to eye contact and real conversations. The English language is being butchered every day by text messages and the lack of writing skills. The obesity epidemic in this country is being fueled by junk food and soda. Our schoolchildren are becoming increasingly difficult to handle, as our families are becoming increasingly dysfunctional. Our sense of joy is dampened by a perceived need for more and more “stuff.”
So what’s my point? We (and I’m including myself) need to take stock of everything that makes this country great. We need to center ourselves in a place of gratitude for all our blessings. We need to be willing to face our problems and to work on solutions in a spirit of compromise. We need to let go of our inner anger, so obvious around election time. We need to sing out with joy. We need to eat more whole foods and cut out the sugar and soda. We need to find answers to what many perceive as a cultural slide downhill. We need to treat each other with respect and compassion, and to be tolerant of our differences. We need to become less insular as a country, expanding our knowledge of other cultures and languages. We need to wake up. And we need to care.
Nancy Teggeman
Polson
