This is the American election season—when differences become chasms, and chasms become bottomless. But what if we could set aside partisan differences, and instead, concentrated on the good that we can do—albeit with a bit more civility? There was a time in the not too distant past when most of that was possible.

In these days of disassemblage, when time can be friend or foe, it is up to us to shape our own future. The tasks that lay before us need to be articulated with greater clarity. Perhaps we need only call upon our “better angels” to help us state them and to find the words and the motivation that call us to action. We might find that our differences are small when compared to the good that comes from finding our commonalities.

We all know we can be better than when we speak from a political point of view. We can do a lot better. We need to draw from an abundance of motives and facts that exceed our limitations. It takes resolve, compassion, and determination to act individually or together in our best interests. But it takes inspiration and dedication to find that extra push that requires we rise above self and reach for the best that is in us. To reach even further takes purpose and vision. And vision requires that we take command of the moment. Giving voice to it all takes just a bit of perspicuity.

This is such a moment. Why not set the mood and the tone by giving the lyricist, the musician, and the singer their due and call it “one moment in time?” Read the following words, then click on the video link at the end and see if you can find an inspirational moment that transcends time and location about the issues of the day:

I want one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel
I will feel eternity.  1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96aAx0kxVSA

Let the name-calling end. Let the healing begin. There are only issues that some see as problems; that others see as challenges; and a few with vision see as opportunities. They rise to the fore and they challenge us to find the best that is within us. They are as pure as the needs we all see in a baby’s eyes; and as clear as if they had come to us in a wave of humanity with the voices of angels, and the power of eternity. They could be the universe speaking to us; the good that we can do.

This is my list.

One Planet, One World, One Humanity. This is our home. We are all caretakers, for better or worse. The richest person has no more right to be here than does the poorest. We act selfishly toward each other and toward our resources at our peril. We can no longer take without taking responsibility for the consequences of our taking. We cannot consume without caring about the residue of our consumption. We cannot act with impunity toward our fellow human beings and expect the oppressed to remain silent. Humanity demands more from us. The Earth demands more from us. All the resident life forms deserve that we think universally, with respect, if not with reverence. Believe what we may about an afterlife, or no life beyond what we can see. Justice demands that we give each other our just deserts—here, now, and always.

Health Care is the first human need. Without it we all suffer. But with it we all thrive. A healthy population does not happen by chance, it is something we all need, and we must work to achieve. We are healthy only by the combined efforts of millions of scientists, providers, and practitioners working together. No one is above falling ill to physical or mental diseases. No one is exempt from pre-existing conditions. No one us unworthy of our best efforts at restoration. Health care is in the common good. All are better as more and more are healthy. There is no counter argument. Its costs are beyond the means of everyone. It can be achieved only when we all pay into a common pool.

Education is a close second human need. Its great opponent is ignorance, the bane of humanity. Education is a lifetime effort, with no human being rising to his or her full potential. But when we try to find “more than we can be,” we push our limits. There is no such thing as an “educated” mind. There are only degrees of “more or less,” where more is always better than less. Education lifts us up from our past, from our mistakes, and it lets us move on to better days. Its ultimate objective is not a life of leisure, rather the assimilation of knowledge tempered with kindness, caring, and humility. Some call that wisdom.

Inequality of both incomes and wealth are at unimaginable extremes—here and around the world. . The great wealth of the few comes only at the expense and with the poverty of the many. No one chooses to be poor, or hungry, or tired, or without hope. Money and wealth come to us in finite amounts. A considerate person therefore takes no more than his or her fair share. A wise person takes no more than his/her just needs. An unselfish person keeps his needs to a minimum.

Climate Change is a scientific fact that becomes observably worse with each passing day. It is measurable in a thousand ways: Temperature changes, melting ice caps, rising ocean levels, disappearing fertile lands, water shortages, and migration patterns all portend diminishing yields, higher costs, lower living standards, and a throwback to a time in which none of us ever lived. If we continue to ignore the urgency of this issue, we must face the consequences that misuse of our resources sets us back to a time and place that we will not like. And our wealth cannot save us.

Human Bondage and Subjugation are relics from our past that should be but teaching moments of bad examples of human conduct never to be repeated. It shows up more than in “sweat shops,” where the very young and the very old are used merely for profits. It is treating men and women as subhuman. Out of sight is not out of mind. Looking away is not an option. We are either against it, or we are complicit in its perpetuation. It shows up today as byproducts of war, of drug sales and usage, and in the form of immigrants searching for a chance at a better life.

These issues are just those that come to mind on a moment’s reflection. There are many others. Your list could be longer and articulated with greater insight. But this much I know with some certainty: They linger, they persist, and they will not soon leave us. Progress depends on those among us who will not run from them, but who will confront them again and again. Perhaps the ultimate answers are all within us when we see our moment in time, when we are racing with destiny, and when we feel--we feel eternity—and we are free.

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1 One Moment in Time is a song made famous by American singer Whitney Houston, with lyrics by Albert Hammond and John Bettis, produced by Narada Michael Walden for the 1988 Summer Olympics held in South Korea.