In 1965, Burt Bacharach could hardly have known how prophetic his song “What the World Needs Now” would become, or how relevant it would remain in today’s political climate. Although the lyrics spoke to the issues surrounding the Vietnam War, they could just as easily describe the chaos the w orld is experiencing today. His opening lines — “What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of” — speak powerfully to today’s conflicts, including the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East involving Israel, Lebanon, Iran and now the United States. During President Trump’s first term, he was largely surrounded by competent, well-educated advisers with expertise in domestic and foreign affairs. Today, he has chosen advisers who lack the skill and experience to offer sound guidance and who are loyal primarily to him,rather than to their oath to uphold the Constitution. For those of us who lived through the Great Depression, four major wars, and the economic boom of the 1970s that helped create a strong middle class, life in America today does not seem to be moving toward a better republic. Why? To many Americans, our president’s leadership does not measure up to that of past administrations. He has focused his attention on the wealthy at the expense of ordinary citizens and has financially benefited himself and his family at the public’s expense. Many citizens today feel powerless to improve their standard of living. They have long relied on government institutions to address their concerns, believing the government truly cared about their welfare. Although that may have been true under past administrations, the current administration has ignored those concerns and focused instead on enriching the wealthy. For democracy to succeed, citizens must be self-reliant in addressing issues that affect their general welfare even if that means supporting a different political party. Preserving our democracy requires changing how we treat one another. We must learn to disagree without anger and respect fellow Americans with different views. Without this commitment, the divisions among Americans will continue to grow and could ultimately lead to the downfall of our democracy, opening the door to authoritarian rule. What the world needs now is love, sweet love — the one thing we still have too little of. That should be our mantra if we are to become a united nation once again. John White Midway The post What the world needs now appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less