My father was a lifelong Fayetteville resident. He, like millions of other American men, was drafted into the United States Army. All were changed by their service with fellow soldiers from vastly different places, with different points of view and different ways of life. My father’s military friends included a businessman from the garment district in New York City, a midwestern corn farmer, and someone from New Orleans whose background I never knew. They would never have crossed paths without shared service, but they nurtured these friendships throughout their lives, with shared experiences and a love of our nation being the glue holding them together.
We are now a divided nation, with few common experiences, military or otherwise. Today, although it does not feel this way in our community, less than 1 percent of Americans are on active military duty, and many Americans do not know anyone serving or who has served. Military service is no longer a common experience.
Both talking heads and everyday Americans see that we are now either red or blue, with only a tad of purple. We all wave the American flag, then take it home, and lock our doors and our minds. We watch programs and read publications that reflect our world views back to us, and we associate with people who think like us and avoid people who do not. People, unlike us, are now “the other,” with all of us spinning off into our own orbits…