There is an imbalance in our American culture. The media, as well as the mass communication potential of the Internet, has helped to deepen this condition. The imbalance I allude to is that of communication versus the silent majority within America.

         I believe America has a Voice and a Heartbeat. One is very visible and the other is only felt or perceived. One is ‘in your face’ and the other is a hidden current buried deeply in our fabric. We react in ‘knee jerk’ mode in one and at glacier speed in the other.

         Our Voice is projected in the communication media. This consists of the written and broadcast news media, the Hollywood contribution, and the Internet. Our Voice is predominantly liberal. There is no argument about that; that is just the way it is. With the exception of Fox News and the right wing blogging sites, the liberal viewpoint is the predominant tone of this voice. There is no right or wrong, good or bad, in this statement—just fact.

         The Heartbeat of America is the silent majority, conservative families, located across the heartland of the nation. The Heartbeat is typically rural, religious, simple folks. They populate small towns as well as suburbs and work hard for a living. Their number is strong in the metropolitan areas but they are muted by the social impact of liberal thought. They list themselves as being independent politically, but often tend to vote conservatively, regardless of their party affiliation. They are the silent majority of citizens who supported the Republican’s Contract with America, are suspicious of big government, and who flock now to the Tea Party meetings. They are the folks who voted for Ronald Reagan and who believe he was a great American statesman. They share a deep abiding love for this nation with their liberal mined brothers and sisters; they are the Heartbeat of America.

         What makes our current situation in this country interesting is that the Voice of America does not necessarily speak for the Heartbeat of America. However, it is the Voice which the masses hear. It is the Voice which reverberates overseas in other countries. It is the Voice which provides the image of who America is. When listening to that Voice, the other peoples of this world do not receive an accurate reflection of the Heartbeat of America. The Heartbeat is not the Hollywood image; nor is it the image of the liberal media. And, the mish-mash of the Internet cannot provide an accurate image of the Heartbeat; nor can the conservative talk show pundits.

         If you are not included in the description of these folks, who are the Heartbeat of America, you will probably deny their existence. For each American believes he or she is part of the Heartbeat of America, and the thought that it may be the other guy does not set easily. Now, if you are not included in the description of the Heartbeat, it does not mean you are a bad person or inadequate. It does not mean you are wrong or misguided. It does not make you any less of an American. It simply means you are not numbered with the silent majority of Americans that make up the Heartbeat. If that is the case, do not be alarmed. For the ranks of the Heartbeat is eroding daily. It is giving way to a more understanding and open-minded liberal thinking—one which is much more inclusive. The Heartbeat is bowing to a thinking that compromises rather than preserves the status quo in a world where the status-quo is seen as being backward and ignorant. It won’t be long until there will be a new Heartbeat replacing the one our fathers and grandfathers knew. And, to many folks that is a good thing.

         However, until that transformation takes place, we will live in a land where the Voice of America is not reflective of the Heartbeat of America. Somehow that seems a little dishonest. It is as if we are telling the world we are someone we are not. I suppose if the Voice speaks loud enough and is persistent, the Heartbeat will change its beat—morph into something that resembles the image portrayed by the Voice. Or perhaps the Heartbeat will find it’s own voice. Who knows? Until that time, I suppose we will just have to live within the imbalance of the thing.