Do the right thing. Eventually, everything else will fall into place.

The views expressed are the writer's ONLY, and not those affiliated with the writer, including employers, etc., past or present.

A few years back I found myself in a very difficult situation, kind of like getting stuck in the mud, metaphorically speaking. The wheels begin to spin, the feeling sorry for oneself, where the wheels do turn, but the car goes nowhere. The lift in one's spirit comes not from a continuing to turn, but just the opposite: a looking outside the circumstances that brought one to the brink of "ruin," "destruction," "misfortune," amplified to the nth degree, subjectively speaking.

The placing of a new surface, board, etc. underneath the tires that would facilitate movement (out of the mud and unto the street) requires a "stepping out," even if it entails giving what little one has, or even spending what one does not have, to help others experiencing greater harm. Things don't look quite the same from a hospital room, or from a ravaged, war-torn section of a Syrian village, if not the whole village, the way a hungry child views the world, or closer to home, a downtrodden individual standing on a street corner trying to collect enough to buy his or her next meal.

So some may ask, "Why even bother to arrive at a different perspective, to aim one's focus, even if temporarily, on a different problem of sorts, if it does not pertain to what one may actually be experiencing?" The answer is twofold. First, it allows for a "stepping way," much like one would do if attempting to figure out a difficult math problem, and then, taking a break, one comes back with a refreshed perspective, perhaps even the answer. Second, I don't think we were meant to be alone, or put here to look after our own affairs only. The first pertains to perspective, the widening of one's views, a new look, a respite, effective, although, at times, disconnected. The second, a matter of heart, or substance.

From a broader perspective, the United States is a country, defined by physical boundaries, but no less, an ideal, an ideal that represents hope to many. The roots go deep. We can't explain why things seem to continue to work out for us as a country, despite our many shortcomings. But there seems to be a protective covering that continues to shelter us from the storm or storms, a covering, unlike a mere physical wall, that covers all aspects of our psyche, both physical and metaphysical.

At the same time, our ideals seem to advance the importance of both the origins and characteristics of individuality, an ideal that extends a welcoming hand to those in different parts of the world, a message that says, "You are as human and worthy and alive and as needy as I am, therefore, I am going to be thinking about you, hoping and praying for the best, for you as I do for myself, and do something about it." What goes around comes around, and we are much richer for it as a country, in the true sense of the word.

These ideals seem to align somewhat, with the example that one provided us with, years ago, which many in this country have incorporated into their belief systems, by way of rich religious and historical roots, whether you accept him as a historical figure, or as something much more, in the offering up of himself as the ultimate "sacrifice," a concept not foreign to practically all civilizations, civilizations that have incorporated sacrifice into their systems of worship (practically all), and all who have been privileged with the task of looking out for other human beings, beginning with ourselves, which is all of humanity.

This same historical figure, and the events that followed, advocated the reinforcement of bonds, notwithstanding our physical and cultural boundaries, with others, no matter where they are from, or their background, including religious preferences, etc. And as far forward as recent unfortunate events, including those that occurred here in Orlando, at the Pulse Nightclub, have buttressed the notion that notwithstanding the plurality and diversity of our outward choices, and orientations, we are all connected by a common humanity, with one common characteristic, perhaps the only one worth keeping, which is to love and care for other human beings.

Despite the new insights, we seem to be growing further apart, including in our political views, some which advocate abandoning our roots as a world visionary, while immersing ourselves in our own needs, justified by a rationale of perceived misdeeds, including those involving transactions where we have been "shorted." Nothing is more unAmerican.

What is being missed here is the intrinsic worth of representing what we do, and that while trying to trade our legacy for 30 pieces of silver, or something that can be seen or felt (alarmingly, on a much more personal and hierarchical level, coming from our nation's highest office, perhaps, one's name on a building), we lose so much more, including our intrinsic worth, and the material gain that follows.

God bless the U.S.A., and others around the world who long for what we long for, and who are in need of the most basic necessities. Let's continue to be what we have been, and despite the torrents of change that have been rattling our foundations (sourpuss attitudes, name calling, adolescent behavior-no offense to our brilliant, promising young people, that as a whole, seem to possess so much better sense-and an arrogance that seems to be causing division between us and our allies around the world) hang on for better times to come.