On Friday of last week, a group of my friends and I crammed into our tiny SUV and went to early vote. It's the first time I've ever early voted. It's the first time I've ever gone with a group to vote. The feeling was electric.
We didn't discuss politics in our car ride there or back. We didn't argue or debate. We joked around, laughed. We respected each other and everyone at the polls. For a minute, just a few moments in time, we were all connected by a common purpose.
These days we seem to forget that we are ever connected. We fight over every little thing. We spit and claw. We lash out. We hate.
We're living in a time where our leaders want us to be divided. Divided, we're easier to handle. Divided, we're easier to control. It's a cliché for a reason: united we stand; divided we fall. My call to action for you? Don't let that happen.
Disagree with people. Know that we're all different and so we're all going to have different perspectives and opinions. And it's okay that we disagree with those perspectives and opinions; it's okay to have discourse and discussion and conflict. What's not okay? Hate. Ever. In any way. I don't necessarily prescribe to any certain set of religious or spiritual beliefs, but I'm pretty sure almost all faiths encourage kindness and love over hate...and if they don't, maybe find a new faith.
But gosh, lately, there seems to be a lot of hate. It comes in the form of name-calling, belief- and opinion-shaming, passive aggressive statements made under our breaths and just within earshot, ugly memes and jokes on social media. It honestly reminds me a lot of middle school. And who liked middle school? Aren't we better than middle school, y'all?
I get it. There are a lot of polarizing issues. There are a lot of people challenging beliefs and ways of life on both sides. This isn't easy stuff. But at the end of the day, it's not going to do any of us any good to hate on each other. At some point, and I hope this happens soon, we need to be able to come together, despite our differences, and hear each other. Hear both sides, hear all sides, and then work together on compromises that can benefit the whole and the future.
We can't hand the world over worse than we found it. Today, we're poised at a crossroads where we can make change for the better, where we can make the world better. Let's try to do that, through love and respect, kindness and listening. Because really, what is the alternative?
We didn't discuss politics in our car ride there or back. We didn't argue or debate. We joked around, laughed. We respected each other and everyone at the polls. For a minute, just a few moments in time, we were all connected by a common purpose.
These days we seem to forget that we are ever connected. We fight over every little thing. We spit and claw. We lash out. We hate.
We're living in a time where our leaders want us to be divided. Divided, we're easier to handle. Divided, we're easier to control. It's a cliché for a reason: united we stand; divided we fall. My call to action for you? Don't let that happen.
Disagree with people. Know that we're all different and so we're all going to have different perspectives and opinions. And it's okay that we disagree with those perspectives and opinions; it's okay to have discourse and discussion and conflict. What's not okay? Hate. Ever. In any way. I don't necessarily prescribe to any certain set of religious or spiritual beliefs, but I'm pretty sure almost all faiths encourage kindness and love over hate...and if they don't, maybe find a new faith.
But gosh, lately, there seems to be a lot of hate. It comes in the form of name-calling, belief- and opinion-shaming, passive aggressive statements made under our breaths and just within earshot, ugly memes and jokes on social media. It honestly reminds me a lot of middle school. And who liked middle school? Aren't we better than middle school, y'all?
I get it. There are a lot of polarizing issues. There are a lot of people challenging beliefs and ways of life on both sides. This isn't easy stuff. But at the end of the day, it's not going to do any of us any good to hate on each other. At some point, and I hope this happens soon, we need to be able to come together, despite our differences, and hear each other. Hear both sides, hear all sides, and then work together on compromises that can benefit the whole and the future.
We can't hand the world over worse than we found it. Today, we're poised at a crossroads where we can make change for the better, where we can make the world better. Let's try to do that, through love and respect, kindness and listening. Because really, what is the alternative?
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| Shiny Happy Voters Holding Hands! |
