I’ve been doing these blogs a few months now, and I have stayed away from the political realm. It was never my purpose to give an opinion on current events, but share events in my life that may encourage others or help them through difficult times. But the state of our American society…especially in the wake of this last weekends NFL protests, is pushing barriers that haven’t been approached in a long time.
I’m not really sure when the divisiveness started….when the hate became so intense. A lot will say that it was when President Trump was elected…..while many others will say it all began with President Obama. During President Obama’s administration he was always quick to come out and make comments regarding police brutality before the facts were even discovered. On the other hand, President Trump has an addiction to Twitter that often puts opinions out that are probably better left inside his mind.
Either way, I have never seen it this bad before. Now I’m a white male, I’ve been blessed with a good life. I’ve never gone without food, never been shot at….well, maybe once in Iraq on a helicopter, but I will never be able to confirm that. I’ve never been afraid for my life. I don’t know how it is to be a young black man or a Hispanic female. So I can’t speak from their perspective. But what I do believe, deep in my heart, is that as a society, we aren’t born with hatred towards others. We don’t segregate ourselves from others until that habit is learned. My mother said my first friend ever was a little black boy…….that neither one of us knew that we weren’t the same.
So why do we continue to propagate the hate? Why does the media find stories that divide, and not bring together? Why is one person automatically considered a racist just because the color of their skin? At work last week I was having a very good conversation with a co-worker who has a completely different set of ideals than I do. We spoke calmly, listening to each others points….but throughout the hour he kept referring to me as “you people.” If I would have ever referred to him as “you people”, with him being Hispanic, he probably would have gone to HR and I would have been fired. I finally got angry and told him to stop. I said, “You don’t know who I hang out with, you don’t know what I do after work. You don’t know who I vote for or what charities I donate to. So how can you call me you people?” He apologized and we moved on with our day.
The problem today is that everyone is so quick to anger these days. Everyone is so quick to offense. No matter how civilized a conversation is, the other is wrong…..if their opinion is different from yours. I still have no idea when this happened.
Jesus preached of love….and that is the only thing that will fix our problems. One day Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment in the law. He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39.)” Jesus also said, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another (John 15:16-17.)”
We need to come together. We need to listen to each others opinions. No, we may not have lived the life you have, and vice versa, but nothing will every get better unless we all try. In one of my kids favorite book, the last sentence is so powerful. The Lorax says, “Unless someone like you cares an awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
So I will finish this with what Paul told the Corinthians about love, this coming from a man who was oppressed, persecuted against, spent numerous stints in prison for spreading his beliefs about Christ….who had plenty of reasons to hate others. “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7.)”
So I pray for this country. I pray for our leaders to unite us, and not divide us. I pray we can come together as a society and bridge the divide. I pray for equality for all……for no one to feel oppressed by another and that we can all move forward hand in hand.
Tetelestai 