The wealthy few pour money into campaigns, showing up as last minute trashmail that sways an election. A foreign dictator unleashes “Cyberus” to stoke the hellfires of our deepest resentments. A lifelong con-man promises us whatever we want to hear, enriching and glorifying himself in the fraudulent afterglow.

We are being played by ill-intentioned forces, played to our sense of umbrage, pitted against each other rather than toward a common goal. “Divide et impera” – divide and conquer – is their tactic, and it’s working. We are tearing our country apart. Our national motto of “E Pluribus, Unum” is changing. For we are no longer united as one, but divided – a proud mosaic of beauty and strength broken into small and powerless shards.

The purpose of our government – gathering together to address our common challenges – has become lost in the drunken brawl of editorials, posts, and argument. The blogosphere is the new battleground, replacing the orderly discourse of assemblies, dialog, and debate. The smoldering of human biases are prodded into flame by contrived stories, slanted reporting, denial of facts, abuse of information.

Brought to a standstill are we, at a time when so much around us begs for attention, creativity, and solution. Instead of applying that great American advantage of collectively focused minds, of unified effort, of earnest intent and subsequent action, we turn against each other, dissipating our energies in a destructive implosion. “Ex Uno, Plures.” What will become of us?

We are being played with the very technology we have created to stimulate communication and empower creativity. Distorted, it has fostered a societal carnage, gorging upon our ideals and national potential. We are possessed like demented spirits, rousted into a frenzy from which there is no return.

Unless.