In November 1956, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the (then) Soviet Union, said of the United States, “We will take you over without ever firing a shot; we will bury you.” Was Khrushchev right? Our divisiveness is destroying us from within, and the only weapons used are Words of Mass Destruction. It does not have to be this way.

Entropy is the state of going from order to disorder. There are some things we cannot stop, such as aging, but we can stop polluting our minds with wrongful thoughts about people. I believe we can prevent the destruction of our society and show kindness and compassion to each other. It begins with willingness: We must be willing to connect with each other.

We have a heart problem in our country. We see it manifested through unthinkable acts of violence and hateful prejudice. People cry out for unity and diversity. Novel, nice ideas, but unity and diversity do not resolve the underlying problem. Here is why: unity makes us cautious to be ourselves and stand out from the unified group, while diversity just divides us further. We should strive for connectedness. Connection means we see through to the heart of others, see their true selves and not a prejudiced belief we have or the façade they want us to believe about them. Truly connecting with others resolves societal divisions political correctness feebly tries to address. Issues like racism, bigotry, hatred, persecution of others, even bullying dissolves when we connect.

My circle of friends covers the spectrum of race, religion and beliefs. I even have a friend who is a pagan worshipper (seriously, although I don’t believe she has performed a sacrificial offering. Yet)! I learn so much from my friends. We recognize and embrace our divergent backgrounds and opinions, have healthy, spirited conversations about our beliefs, yet our friendship withstands the test of conflict. Our values haven’t been attacked, nor have we compromised them for the sake of peaceful reconciliation. And we receive a gift in this: we see the world through different eyes which can only make us better and more open-minded. We connect!

Can we stop the entropy of humanity and decency? Yes, we can! And we must! Admittedly, I am eternally optimistic. Optimism is in my DNA, so this is the prism I view the world through. Being an optimist, I hold no one in judgment, so others feel free to be themselves and open up to me. My challenge to you is this: rid yourself of prejudgment of others, open your mind and your heart to alternative ways of thinking and see our beautiful world through different eyes. Who knows? You might make a connection!