The Middle

In an era defined by opinionated debates, protest marches, and staunch resistance to opposing views, we sit in the middle of a war of ideologies. The middle ground is often lost and lies in secret in the heart of the majority. Presidential candidates appear to be extremists swinging in two separate directions while voters are conflicted on which will do less irreparable damage. News outlets would have us believe the entire country is backing one extreme or another with a hard line drawn in the middle. This cannot be the case or our country will be ripped apart. This has been presented as fact for so long that it makes it almost impossible to be true if we have yet to see an explosion of war. I, along with many Americans, belong to the 80-or-so percent caught in the middle of absurd rationales. I belong to the group who sees middle ground in every debate and believes love and compromise is the best solution. I believe in my personal responsibility to my fellow human beings. I was at a job where we got paid hourly and then an evenly split tip for the night. I got the option to leave an hour early before the final closing work was to be done. I naturally declined feeling it unfair to receive the huge tip compared to the hourly wage without finishing the job with everyone else. Some of my coworkers then got asked and they jumped on the opportunity to leave. I voiced my frustration to a fellow employee and they said they could see my point but said it boiled down to a moral code. They said they did not believe in "good" or "bad", which I do, but when they still did they would not have been upset because they expect people to do "bad". I cannot wrap my mind around that. I trust people. I leave my car unlocked. I talk to strangers. I know people will help me if I am in need. I have faith in people and trust them to do the "good" thing. My faith in humanity comes from my belief in a moderate majority willing to progress life for all. I hope for a day where the silent, understanding, loving majority speaks up and shouts louder than extremities. Next time you believe you have a reasonable answer to a simple question speak up and be the majority that makes a difference. Just a thought.