The Why

I'm an American. I like living in America, and I say that not because I was born here, or grew up here. It's the same feeling I have when I say I am a Floridian, even though I was not born in Florida. Florida is my home, it is where I want to live, and where I want to make things better.

I think any person who calls themselves an American can feel the way I do, no matter if they were born here or not.

I have also had the very wonderful opportunity to travel a lot during my life. I realize not many people get to do this, and I am thankful for all the people/reasons which/who made my travels possible. I've been to many countries, though not too many, and seen lots of things. I wish I could have seen more.

I made a lot of friends, and I grew to appreciate different cultures. People all over were very nice to me, and in many cases, risked their lives to help me.

Those sort of experiences really had an impact on me.

And now, as I sit in the comfort of my home, I look at what is going on around me now - the human conflicts, the anger, the polarity of thinking in the media outlets that are available to me.

The "us versus them" mentality has me puzzled and saddened, and thus I blog.

I have noticed that due to the overwhelming amount of media outlets available to us, we more and more talk ABOUT each other, rather than TO each other. This seems the most prevalent in the arenas where Belief is on the line. This can be seen in the politics of today in America.

It also exists in the arena of Organized Religion.

So what if you just want to "just get along?"

Who can you talk to? Everybody has a slant. Sure lots of churches, temples, and mosques have charity wings, and they all want to tell you how peaceful they are, but more often than not, they just want to "bring you into their fold".

I've talked to a few places about InterFaith dialogue, but there always seems to be a catch. There doesn't seem to be many places out there where you can just TALK TO people about tearing down walls of misunderstanding and misconceptions.

There needs to be more of those places. Especially now. We need it, because if we don't start getting along, we're doomed.

This blog is dedicated to InterFaith dialogue in the Central Florida area and beyond.

Although I grew up in a Judeo-Christian community, I am open to all faiths, and hope to inspire discussion, and learn more, and grow.