I haven’t said much about the election in terms of what is happening, mostly because of my job, but also because it’s not worth my breath. While it pains me to read what people think is their version of the truth on social media, the facts really are buried with the lead.
Yes, this goes for both sides of the fence.
I’m not going to talk about candidates, what they have or have not done. All five have their issues and their virtues, but with reading all of the posts and slanted articles and seeing the memes, this is what I want to ask.
Why are you so defensive?
Why are we, as a people, so offended by what the other side of our opinions does or says? Why are we so quick to defend some version of morality that we have, frankly, created in some type of fantasy country that we live in?
Why can’t we all just know what we all know: we are different.
This election, no election, will change that.
No social media post will change that.
Your ideas and supposed rants will not change the fact that we all will vote and support different causes for different reasons and different convictions. Which is what this country stood for in the beginning. A place that aimed (not perfectly) to encouraged diversity of thought and lifestyle without penalty. I understand the push back from this because yes, the US was founded on Christian principles, because the majority of the founding fathers were indeed Christians, but we cannot deny that the world is moving in a direction that is no surprise (shouldn’t be anyways) to Christians or conservatives (or even liberals.)
We have to look at ourselves. We have to do what we as individuals feel is right for us and our inner circles. We have to embrace the differences, because if we don’t, polarization will destroy the very fiber of our country that made our differences so great.
So I charge you: Pay attention to what makes you defensive. If you feel the need to defend yourself or your political beliefs, I guarantee in most situations you aren’t listening.
As you are getting defensive reading this, I am not advocating taking everything thrown at you. There is also celebration in passion and fighting for a cause so hard your knuckles bleed. [THAT is a beautiful thing.] I’m not talking about when someone is deliberately attacking a belief or point of view, I’m talking about real conversations.
When you are having a normal conversation with someone, who in any other situation you would embrace, and your hairs stand up on your head, think about what is making you respond that way.
What would happen if all of us would simply stop and say to ourselves or that individual, “Thank you, for being different than I. Thank you for making me appreciate that we live in a world where individual thought is embraced.”
Don’t take this out of context. If you are, you’re missing the point. I’m not referring to a Christian or non-Christian worldview. I’m referring to a human one. No one, Christian or not, can deny that life (and mostly politics) will not always look the way your paradigm does. It is a fact of life.
What if, as a Christian, your conversations became more real and more ‘human’ with someone you have been trying to reach? What if, if you are someone who isn’t, you got the respect you feel you never get?
Intimate relationship doesn’t have to come from similarities, it can also come from differences. We just have to be willing to think of different as a positive instead of a negative. Maybe we can start looking a lot more like love.
Some interesting reads:
An Open Letter to the Christian Right
TRANSCRIPT: Michelle Obama’s Speech On Donald Trump’s Alleged Treatment Of Women
I’m pro-life. And I’m voting for Hillary. Here’s why.
Learning as I go Along... 