America's "funk"- the controversies of our country and my hope that they're signs of growth

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Maybe it's just me but it seems we have something controversial going on every other week. Whether it's a racist joke at the Oscar's, another white cop shooting a black kid, or Donald Trump running for President... tensions are running high and it seems like everywhere you look people are really angry on either side. 

As usual, I've been thinking a lot about everything that's going on and I'm always hesitant to have an opinion... But it doesn't feel right not to say anything either. 

And then I was thinking about what I had been through this past year and started thinking that perhaps our country is going through a growing pain much like the one I went through.

Maybe I'm just being optimistic, but to me, Trump running for president just shows how desperate and how hard certain groups are fighting for the way America "used to be". Because they know that it's dying. 

Metaphorically speaking... it's like how forest fires are necessary for the seeds of certain trees to sprout and grow. Or how things have to get really bad before they can get better. 

That maybe America is going through a "funk" right now. 

I'm relating it to my "funks" because I really did go through a lot of changes during this last year. I finally ended a relationship that just wasn't what I wanted, I had to confront the things that were mentally holding me back, and I was constantly fighting between the old me and the new me that I wanted to be. 

And very much like how all these issues in our society had been ignored but are finally being discussed now, it took some time before I reached that place where I needed to deal with my issues too. 

There were times it seemed hopeless, much like how I feel when I look at the divide in our society. The fight was super painful and frustrating but in the end made way for a much happier and healthier me. 

Maybe Trump running for President is necessary to get more people to care about what happens to their country. Maybe Peter Liang's guilty verdict was necessary to get Asian Americans to stop being silent about issues that affect minorities. Maybe Chris Rock's joke at the Oscars was necessary to get people to rethink racial stereotypes, even "positive" ones. 

We're battling more and more between the way things used to be and the way things are changing. And as much as I pray that we don't respond with hate and violence

... I personally think it's a good sign. 

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