Recently, I turned 72 and like never before felt a need to reflect on earlier trips around the sun in the hope that some reflection might help me understand my feelings about the present.

It’s actually been a good year where the blessings of family, friends, and good health added greatly to the joy of living! But currently, many of my core beliefs are being challenged by recent events and those challenges seem to gnaw away at the joy of each day. A major factor is that so many individuals that I have always had great respect for do not seem to sense these challenges, and we live in a time where it is difficult to have meaningful discussions about such things. My purpose here is to share these reflections to enable others to understand my position and to solicit others to share perhaps countering thoughts in the hope that we will understand each other better. Perhaps understanding each other at a local level is the first step toward getting our nation back on a track where we can build a better future on our common ground — which I must believe still exists in America.

Reflections …

Evidence, truth and science: I spent my career believing that truth was something to be estimated with evidence and that the scientific method provided the process for collecting evidence for that estimate. This leads one to respect those who have experience seeking the truths about this fascinating but complex world we live in. Yet today it seems much of our country does not share this belief.

This amazing Earth: I have been blessed to grow up in, to live in, and to travel in some truly magnificent places. The more you learn about these places — the more you see, and the more impressive they become. What could be more important than striving to protect these places and their functions that are essential to civilization and to the quality of life for future generations. Yet today it seems much of our country is willing to sacrifice their future for short term economic or political gain.

Rules: I grew up being taught that you follow the rules. If you break the rules, you face consequences. Seemed our legal system with the part that makes the rules, the part that enforces the rules, and the part that settles disagreements about the rules, collectively supported this childhood lesson. Yet today it seems this imperfect, yet functional, legal system has or is in the process of collapsing around us.

Religion and being Christian: I grew up in the Lutheran tradition and have developed great appreciation for its liturgy and the constant reminder it provides me of what it means to be Christian and who that meaning comes from. And, that no one can be forced to be Christian — that the individual willfully accepts Christ. So, freedom of religion is a natural, if not mandatory, constitutional construct of even a country founded on Christian principles, which one could argue was the case for America. Yet today much of our country seems to be ready to abandon this core freedom defined by our founding fathers.

Being an American: I have been blessed to have spent time in at least 35 countries, though only a few days in many. I consistently returned home marveling at how well the American experiment in democracy works and all the freedoms we so frequently take for granted. We had found a solution to the structural and functional problems most of the rest of the world continued to face.

So, not surprisingly we have a long-standing reputation as a melting pot of the peoples of the world wanting to become part of this experiment — likely a major factor in the success this nation has experienced. Indeed, my grandparents were Norwegian immigrants in the 1870s. We are planning a family trip this summer to the farm near Fykse on the Hardanger Fjord where we came from, in part so our grandkids know we are a family of poor immigrants. America has been willing in the past to attempt to assist other nations in their striving for such success. All this made one proud to be an American. Yet today this concept of Americanism seems to be vanishing, or at least being threatened.

So, my appeal is for others to share their understanding of the course we are on.