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"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." To have a happy family “…one should live so as to have the best for oneself and one's family." Leo Tolstoy, who was born on this date in 1828.

From today’s Greeley Tribune:

We are living in a historic time. We have the opportunity and the necessity to envision a new way of living that will fulfill the promise of the founding brothers of our nation. What will matter is not that they were Christian, but that they had a vision of governance that eschewed wealth and power of the few for the power and dignity of "We the People."

We are at a crossroads in our nation wherein the promise of our ideals is in jeopardy and the vision of this country is nearly bankrupt. We need a debate on what we want for the future of our children and grandchildren. We must get beyond our propensity to react to events and work to envision the life we want. The process of creating this nation is not nor ever was finished with the writing and ratification of the Constitution. We must do our part in our time to ensure the continuation of the ideals we hold to be self-evident, "that all people are created equal and entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Our visioning process needs to include at least three levels. Our families are the rock on which our society stands. They cannot stand alone, however. Human society has always been about helping each other survive, so we formed communities, cities and nations. In our time, we are facing global problems that cannot be solved by a single nation. We are in this together, and our vision of community must broaden to include every living thing on this planet -- human, animal and plant. This is the vision that our Native American brothers and sisters have always held sacred.

What vision do you want to see for your community, your world? We have evidence every day in our lives of the vision of greed and the idolization of wealth. We have become a nation of rapacious consumers, addicted to getting more and more stuff. We are complacent about corporate greed that puts money profits over people's lives. Didn't it disturb you to read in this paper that people are dying in the California fruit and vegetable fields for lack of shade and water because the owners are oblivious to the suffering of their laborers? That is the obscenity of our current way of life. Where are the "Christian" values you so like to talk about?

What vision do you see for your nation? Is it the vision that the lust for power wins every time, that lies and dirty tricks are OK as long as the "right" party is doing it? Is it the vision that as long as I have my house, car, toys, "I've got mine," and you can go to hell?

There is another way to be and relate to our world, and ultimately it is old-fashioned and very American. This is the vision of purpose, national purpose. We are in this together. We are the people. We are each other's neighbors. We are each other's keepers. When there is a vision for a society that is based on compassion, our resources and our will to accomplish justice for all is possible.

What will it take to get there? Rigorous honesty, as they say in Alcoholics Anonymous. We need to become a nation that faces our dishonesty and hypocrisy, our lies and our addictions to wealth and power. We are not exceptional because we have a powerful military. It is our American ideas that are powerful. To truly value democracy, we must return to the Founders' ideas that wealth and power are anathema to good governance. Take this opportunity at this historic moment and think about what you really want for this country and for this beautiful planet we all call home.

Claire Barta teaches violin and viola lessons, plays in the Greeley Philharmonic, and is a photographer. She is also a political junkie and 12-year Greeley resident.