{"id":234,"date":"2017-04-02T13:49:55","date_gmt":"2017-04-02T13:49:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/robertclyman.com\/?page_id=234"},"modified":"2017-04-02T20:58:02","modified_gmt":"2017-04-02T20:58:02","slug":"mission","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/robertclyman.com\/index.php\/mission\/","title":{"rendered":"mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

Americans want to feel beautiful again. We may be\u00a0the dominant world power,\u00a0militarily and economically, but a majority of Americans experience a diminished quality of life within communities degraded by aging infrastructure and neglect\u00a0of essential services. \u00a0We are confused about our identity, our values and our priorities. We have lost touch with our soul, our spirituality, our humanity and our sense of greater purpose. Yet we can work together\u00a0to identify and define the problems, inventory our strengths and assets and develop an action plan for positive change to help us get back on track. The goal is to help ourselves, we Americans, to again feel\u00a0happy, and be proud, to make good lives for ourselves and for our children.<\/p>\n

It seems clear that most Americans feel anxious and distressed about the state of the nation and believe we have lost our way. It feels like everyone is arguing with each other and civil discourse is breaking down. Increasing levels of fear and uncertainty opens the door for anger, resentment, intimidation and violence and erodes people\u2019s allegiance to community. In this atmosphere, people withdraw into clans and subgroups. There is increased tendency to scapegoat and marginalize those who are different. Out of fear, people retreat inside their fences and walls and gated communities. When this happens, genuine communication, conversation breaks down . Stratification and social isolation increases. This further erodes any sense of community, of shared purpose and destiny and the situation continues to spiral downward.<\/div>\n

In this atmosphere, the mental health of the nation deteriorates. When chronically not feeling safe and secure, our levels of stress increase. As stress and anxiety increase, we are more susceptible to other ills such as depression and paranoia. Most people are also working too many hours at jobs that don\u2019t provide them a sense of financial security. They feel uncertain about their futures and are uncertain who they can trust. As we lose cohesive communities, we lose one of society\u2019s traditional safety nets and people are more vulnerable to trauma. Children are most vulnerable and the consequences include increasing rates of developmental problems, attention deficit disorder, anxiety, depression, and conduct disorders. Eventually we\u2019ll all have some degree of post traumatic stress disorder. We\u2019re already witnessing an explosion in rates of substance abuse and addiction, sequelae of PTSD.<\/p>\n

The good news is that America had a good start in life and was built on a foundation of very positive and sound principles that has informed our national character and identity. This should give us much cause for hope. In order to reconnect with our true self- to remember who we are, what values we hold dear, and how to behave in a manner that stays true to our values- we first must work to heal ourself from the injuries caused by years of emotional, spiritual and physical trauma.<\/p>\n

The most important initial step is to minimize or stop inflicting new trauma so that we can start healing. Heal what\u2019s ailing us now and change circumstances and behaviors to prevent further harm. Re-establish strong cohesive local communities and restore a sense of safety and security. Make healthier choices for our bodies and our minds and for the well-being of our children. Restore the balance between the spiritual and the material. Realign the mission of government to be a effective agent that promotes the health and welfare of people and community.<\/p>\n

Through self-examination, soul-searching and public dialogue, America can rediscover and reconnect with who we are, who we aspire to be and we can change our reality to reflect that. This is the path to regain self-confidence, positive self-esteem, contentment and sense of peace as a nation and a people once again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Americans want to feel beautiful again. We may be\u00a0the dominant world power,\u00a0militarily and economically, but a majority of Americans experience a diminished quality of life within communities degraded by aging infrastructure and neglect\u00a0of essential services. \u00a0We are confused about our<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-234","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P8yn9t-3M","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertclyman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertclyman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertclyman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertclyman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertclyman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/robertclyman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":273,"href":"https:\/\/robertclyman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/234\/revisions\/273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertclyman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}