What the *$?! Is Wrong with People??

I was listening to a podcast the other day and a prominent long time conservative republican was explaining why he was not seeking re- election. He became nostalgic as the reporter and he walked along the outside of the Capitol Building recounting the time just after 9/11 when both democrats and republicans were earnestly working together to come up with legislation that WOULD pass on both sides of the aisle, legislation that was a legitimate win win for their constituents. And now 18 years later the climate has changed to where one side is trying to ‘stick it to’ the other side.  This practice, he said, isn’t limited to either side of the aisle.  He went on to say that if he were to run again, he would have to run in a way that wasn’t true to himself, intimating that he would have to go negative and point out the flaws of his opponent. He simply didn’t want to do that. 

Yesterday there was a shooting in a church just outside of San Antonio.  It’s close to home for me, I spent some rather ‘magikal’ years there in S.A.    I see my Facebook feed filling up with anger directed to the NRA, calling for gun control.  But last week a man rented a truck and mowed down pedestrians in NYC. He didn’t shoot anyone and yet people died. What is going on? 

I think the country’s ethos is being mirrored in the congressman’s experience.  We are at a point in history where there seems to be nothing that unites us. There was a time that after a presidential election the losing candidate gracefully stepped out of the public’s eye.  Now we have hanging chads and email servers and uranium and Russia… all kinds of things that add to the divide. 

I’m not saying that people shouldn’t have discourse, we should. Let’s try to remember that we are all still one people under one flag, under one nation, under one God.   This self-righteous indignation about the current administration is just another symptom of the underlying problem – lack of unity, lack of harmony, lack of compassion, humility and dare I say, lack of faith in Something Bigger than you. 

(Even if you don’t believe in this one God thing, at least have the respect for your fellows to allow them their faith.)

I propose a solution… Why don’t we try, just for a week, why don’t we try to remember that the person who is ideologically and philosophically different that you may have something in common with you.  Maybe when you go off on your rants about how evil or stupid or mentally ill Trump is, or how emotional or stupid or mentally ill liberals are, maybe we should all pause. Pause and ask, how helpful is this rant? Really? Is it helpful? 

People don’t change their beliefs because of a Facebook post, or a political debate, they change their beliefs only when they experience something so profound and emotionally charged that they must reexamine what they believe. 

So, no, the rant is not helpful. It’s hurtful, it’s feeding the problem.

Be Light.  Demonstrate Love.  Show kindness. Give.  This is the only thing that will combat the dis-ease of our culture. It starts here with you and me.  So here I am, sharing my heart with you. Sharing my love. Leaving aside the fear and the need to be right (well, ok. Maybe I’m still ‘needing’ to be right.) but honestly, if we choose kindness we’ll never regret it.