Our nation needs to ask itself questions
There are so many times in an individual life when it is necessary, though not necessarily compelling nor comfortable, to ask “Who am I now?” There are times when a young nation struggling to find itself needs to ask “Who are we now?”
Our current political environment seems to cry out for that question to be asked, perhaps with many variations, and also to be answered. The question is not new; we have had to ask and answer it many times in our brief history as a nation.
So let’s begin again. Are we a nation obsessed with worshiping ownership of weapons of mass destruction (guns and rockets and bombs) above all else? Are we a nation of haters – especially of those who come here from other countries? Do we respect and value the lives of people whose beliefs and culture are different from what we believe are our beliefs and culture? Do we offer compassion, understanding and aid to those people and nations less fortunate than us? Do we seek honesty and truth in our educational endeavors? Are we afraid to speak truth to power?
Of course, there are many more questions we must ask and many answers that will demand more questions. Those suggested are merely one possible start for finding out who we are. If we refuse to ask and honestly answer questions about who we are as a nation, we will inevitably become what other nations and people say we are. If we want to remain a nation that respects and cares for its residents, we must define ourselves not only with our historical words but with our current actions and words.
David Stedman
Apalachicola
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.