By Paul Waldmiller
Did you know in the early 1860’s and shortly before the American Civil War, there was a deep social divide among many Floridians? Looking at Florida and the U.S.A–today–we can see a deep social divide as well.
Some American historians compare many of today’s “division among
Americans” as
“great” if not even greater than that of the years before the Civil
War. In the 1860’s, men and even some women were murdered for simply holding to
a pro- or anti- view of slavery. I think most
Americans today would agree that the idea of using another human being as a
slave or to deny them our God-given right’s is unconscionable.
On a recent local news program, a producer had brought together some
professionals that included a pastor, a teacher and a hair stylist among
others to discuss the social concerns that they had for Floridians and
Americans as a whole. One of the issues they viewed as most critical was the
problem of “anger.” One person in this group openly shared that “everyone seems
so angry.” Not surprisingly, all of the six panel members also agreed.
I cannot help but also see an unwarranted hostility in many Floridians and Americans as well. The
“scary” part is the fact when you ask why some Floridians why they are so angry, they cannot identify anything concrete. Many simply seem to carry a lot of anger with them. There is no doubt that Americans do have some legitimate reasons to be so upset. We see how many Americans treat one-another on social media, in our Government and in the Courts. The number of angry-without-reason however, is simply staggering.
The Bible states that it is Okay to be angry but “sin not.” Every Floridian and American should take the time to assess what their life’s priorities are and in what direction their anger is driving them. America is seemingly and increasingly more likely to implode unless we learn to get to the root cause of so much anger among us.