Kansas and our country faces big choices and an inflection point. What will we decide?

A feedlot with grain bins stands out against the flat Kansas landscape. (Jill Hummels for the Kansas Reflector)

Many of my columns for Kansas Reflector have focused on agricultural topics. In recent weeks, I’ve heard from folks in Kansas and elsewhere, with the most of those comments coming from people having a connection to agriculture.

But their concerns stretch far beyond grain prices and the overall agricultural outlook. They go to the core of who we are as a country, and they caused me to reflect on past events in my own life, and to draw some parallels from those events to the present.

In 1985, I took a two-week business trip around the world. One of the stops was in Mumbai, India. Upon walking into the terminal, I saw dozens of soldiers with machine guns, with their fingers on the triggers. That shook me that day, and I have never forgotten that moment. Little did I think that, one day in America, we would see the same thing. Those displays of “power” provide no calm; instead, they provoke fear and uncertainty. There has not been any let-up in these tawdry displays of raw power since Trump took office.

The common theme in comments about my columns has been a deep concern about the viability of our democracy.

It was apparent that the writers were not members of the radical left. Instead, they were from folks whom I would refer to as ordinary Americans. (I attach no negative connotations to that description.) Many expressed disgust at the absolute failure of our elected representatives in Kansas, and others, to show any sense of loyalty to the Constitution, and to the people whom they are supposed to serve.

My correspondents share a common concern about how far we have fallen as a nation. Cruelty and incompetency are the modus operandi for this administration.   President Donald Trump is learning some hard lessons about throwing his weight around with other countries, many of whom once had at least a semblance of trust in the United States. Take your pick — Brazil, China, India — to name a few. And then there is Russia, with the pathetic display at the so-called Alaska summit.

The damage done to Kansas farmers and their cohorts across the nation will take years, if at all, to be repaired.

The broader picture requires us to ponder whether we are at an inflection point in this country. The vitriol is awful.  While I understand the right of free speech, one of the first things that I learned in law school, per the late Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, is that you can’t shout fire in a crowded theater.  At this point in time in our nation, there are many fires burning, and they have been set by our friends and neighbors.  The monster of unchecked social media is fueling the fire.

When we citizens, and those who represent us in Washington, know the lessons of history but allow them to be repeated, we fail at the moral duty that is at the heart of a democratic and enduring society.

Lies have become truth in the eyes of the Trump faithful. The premise is that if the lie is repeated often enough, it must be the truth. Outrage always comes first, rather than reason or compassion.

Sad to say, but I believe with all of my heart that an inflection point is near for our country. That is the message—loud and clear—that stands out from all the remarks from others about my columns. We have endured new political assassinations and violence, while our leaders seem unable or unwilling to unify Americans.

I remind those of you who read this of the famous words of our late President John F. Kennedy, who said “ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.” As Kennedy reminded us, we have a civic duty — not to tear our country apart, but to build it together.

The crossroads are in sight. What will future generations say about us?

Ben Palen is a Kansas native and a fifth-generation farmer and agriculture consultant in Colorado and Kansas. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.