I was a 6-year-old sitting in front of our family's black-and-white TV when the news flashed across the airways: "President John Fitzgerald Kennedy is dead."
All the neighbors began coming out of their homes, screaming, crying and praying that what they just heard was not true. It was then that I came to the realization that life was not forever and that politics was a very emotional issue in people's lives.
Watching this year's second presidential debate I found myself drifting back in time to my political science classes and my studying with great enthusiasm the beginning of our nation and the Founding Fathers excitement and trepidation over our so called "perfect union."
As I continued to watch the debate I realized America has significantly altered its moral fabric that was once held in such high esteem. We as a nation have been the beacon of hope for people in so many impoverished, oppressed and unfortunate countries around the world.
Our very existence depends on our inner strength and determination to help others in need. When our country is stagnant and paralyzed by polarization we must begin to understand the deep-rooted emotions in each of us.
A healing process of compromise must begin. America is not greatest nation on earth simply because we think we are. It's the greatest nation because other nations truly believe we are.
Peter Mattes, Kingsville