America is at war. I’m not talking about Iraq, the Taliban or al-Qaida. America is at war with itself. Democrats versus Republicans, Western religion versus Eastern religion, big business versus small, rich versus poor, men vs. women, thin versus fat, right on down to you versus that guy who just cut you off on the freeway. The American Way has bred a civilization not “by the people, for the people” but by myself, for myself and I’m not sharing.

In every aspect of American life you can see people squabbling much like first graders on the playground. Only this time the arguments aren’t, “he took my favorite ball!” or “it was my turn to go down the slide!” The arguments now are “his political party controls more than my political party!” or “she has a better job, spouse, house, car, etcetera, than me!”

I think all of us can admit to having these feelings at some point in our lives. It’s not a happy place to be – I would call it emotionally toxic. It starts with the feeling that you’re getting a raw deal. As you dwell on it the feeling of unfairness spreads, turning into anger projected at far more than the initial upset. That anger, due to comparing your life to another’s, festers like a disease. Eventually you’re the one treating others unfairly. Thus you pass your toxicity on to them and continue the cycle of bitter selfish people, all fighting to outdo the other. How did we get to be this way?

This country is supposedly great because anyone can make a good life here. That’s a fantastic ideal but it simply isn’t reality for the other 99% of us. If you don’t have the same opportunities, you’re still expected to be the best, even if you can’t be. If anyone is supposed to be able to achieve anything in this country, what’s wrong with us when we don’t? We create an emotional burden for ourselves by comparing our successes with those of other people. In so doing, we forget about our own diversity.

None of us are the same, so why should we all attempt to live up to the same standard? We all have differences that make us who we are, and none of those differences are expendable. Different viewpoints keep the world balanced! We need different parties in politics to question each other in order to sustain our democracy. We need people to be able to believe in whatever religion is right for them. We need people to be able to love whomever they choose without being discriminated against. We need the sexes to treat each other with equal value. We need people to be able to look different without hating themselves. We need people to be able to use their talents in business without buying into corporate greed. And damn it we need people to be considerate of others in day-to-day life! We need to celebrate and appreciate our differences instead of fighting each other because of them!

In all of this business about achieving our own slice of the Great American Dream we have lost sight of the good old Golden Rule: treat others how you would want others to treat you. Do you like being sneered at because of your views and beliefs? Well neither does anyone else. What makes your views and beliefs more correct than your neighbor’s? The fact that you believe them to be true? Well, your neighbor believes that theirs are true as well. The fact of the matter is that nothing is correct, it’s just different. There is no need to push your views and beliefs on anyone else.

The pursuit of all people, at least anyone I have ever known, is to be happy. How much happier then would we all be if we let go of our need to be perfect and correct and instead focused our energy into accepting ourselves as we are and being kind to our fellow man? If we could stop squabbling on the playground and work together, we could achieve anything, even happiness. So the next time you have an opportunity to be nice to someone, take it! When you see someone trying to change lanes on the freeway, make room! When someone expresses a different political view than you, be tolerant and let it be! A country is measured by its strength in unity. The war we are fighting doesn’t need to be won, no one needs to be right, and no one can change this but us. Peace begins with you.