Fear is contagious, like some sort of virus you contract when the seasons change. It clots in the lungs of those who it infects, the illness spreading through them till it consumes every part of one's being. It's a scary thought, that something we feel can affect us so profoundly. The same could be said for love and anger and sadness--but I find that, in this day and age, fear reigns most prominently in our lives. The United States has entered a strange time in our history, one that can not be defined by any other period but its own. Around every corner, a new threat is lurking. A uncertain change hangs in the air, looming over the country in a questionable fashion. It is this uncertainty of change that drives this fear, creates it.

In these past couple of weeks alone, there has been a fear like no other that is present in the United States. We have become divided, or, rather--our divide has grown even more. It has shaken this country down to it's core, the very people that inhabit it pulling farther and farther away from one another.

When did the United States become so fearful as to always expect the worst in any and all situations and circumstances? Fear is always our turn to, now. It's in the media, our social pages. Fear has become such a common part of our lives now, that most of us don't even realize that it's there anymore. This fear motivates our actions, our words, our ideas. It is the machine that has its hold on society.

With this past presidential election, there was an outpouring of mixed emotions across the nation as a whole. While some held their MAGA hats high, praising whatever holy entity they claimed as their own for sending a savior for our nation for President Trump, other citizens who were bathed in blue cried and shook their heads as Hillary Clinton lost, their minds reeling with the worst possible ideas that our new president had in store for our divided nation. Many men and women took to social media, lashing out--obscenities coating their tongues as the words fanned out across their timelines or twitter feed. Others took to the streets, protests bubbling across cities in revolt of their new leader--some even becoming violent.

But, why?

"Fear is the only true enemy, born from ignorance and the parent of anger and hate."

Fear has its hold on the nation, and it will not go till we the people stand against it.

In order to create the nation that we want our children to live in, we must break through whatever fear there is and organize a nation built on the same things people go to fight for every day. But, even that begins with peace.

While we all have different ideals and stances, does that mean we have to hate one another for them? Does that entail that we must lash out at someone for having a difference in opinion?

If so, is that really the America our founding fathers wished for--a nation where you can only have an opinion if it is the same as everyone else around them?

If we are to succeed as a nation, we must accept that, even with our differences--there is still so much to love about this country and the people that inhabit it. It is these differences that give us knowledge, power. Why not harness onto that instead of push it away from the fear of the unknown?

Embrace these differences and hold tight to what makes America so diverse, so different from any other country. Once we accept everyone as they are, then everything else will fall into place. Once we accept sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion--peace will finally reign over this hard place of fear.

There will always be ideas people don't agree with. There will always be something a little different than yourself. But that's America. America is different and various and dynamic, forever changing and altering itself. So, that being the case, why do we fight so hard to make everything the same?

What a boring world it would be if everything was the same.

So, let there be difference. Let there be things that question and provoke critical thinking. Let there be the agreement to disagree--in a constructive manner. Let there be the accepted notion that we, as humans, have the right to change our minds and think for ourselves.

Let us promote peace with our words, finding security in knowledge and wisdom rather than profanity and hatred.

Let us plant seeds across our community. Yes, many of these seeds may not grow into big and powerful trees or beautiful blossoms, but--they have been planted, a single thought being laid in someone's mind.

Where there is fear, let there be peace, and let it bring love and security to a worn down nation, so one day we may truly be great again.