Thursday, December 12Hampton Roads Weekly
Shadow

Suzy Kelly, CEO of Jo-Kell Inc and Fmr. Vice Mayor of Chesapeake – Civil Discourse

When Barack Obama was campaigning for president, he said, in no uncertain terms, that he would transform this country. This made me extremely nervous as I thought America was the land of equal opportunity but not necessarily equal outcomes.  Obama’s positions on public policies, especially healthcare, were very troubling to me.  And, as a business owner, expensive!  His policies would have a significant impact on my business and our company’s bottom line.  

While Obama was President, I did the best I could with the policies, taxes, and regulations imposed by his administration.  I had to come to realize that whether I liked it or not, Obama was the President.  And, yes, he was my president.  To me, it was going to be a long four years.  I had no idea that I would have to bear eight years of his reign!  This being said, I always respected the office of the President even though I disagreed with the President’s policies. 

Today, we have a Republican as President who has his own style of leadership.  I understand that many do not approve of him, his policies, or his tweets.  But Trump is the president of all Americans, whether we like it or not.  For some, like me under President Obama, this is going to be a long four years and possibly eight!  

Why is there such a divide in our country?  I answer this very simply…because we have lost our fundamental grounding point.  Our moral compass is no longer pointing north.  It is spinning out of control.  Many no longer believe that our freedom comes from God.  Without God, we are at the whims of whatever each person wants, whatever each person desires.  Our concept of right and wrong is no longer grounded in God, but in man.  

When we are not filled with God, we fill ourselves with things of the world.  Often, we become numb as we fill ourselves with our electronic devices.  As we continually connect to the noise of our world, we are less connected with our Creator.  Our connection to all that is good and all that is love is diminished, if not extinguished, without the connection to God. 

How does one survive in this climate of chaos and incivility?  We must put our faith and trust in God.  We must serve Him alone.  We must realize that God makes a difference in living peacefully and civilly with one another.  Following God’s laws will bring us out of this chaos, if we choose to allow Him into our life, into our country, and our world.  God is the answer.