I've gone back and forth about whether to write this or not. I mean, let's face it. Monday was a horrible, horrible day. No matter what side of the political spectrum you fall on, yesterday sucked and no amount of screaming at each other is going to make it better.
I'm not going to use this blog to talk about gun control or the senseless loss of life. There's enough about that already. I'm not going to use this blog to talk about my political views right now. I fall squarely on the left and think that "Liberal" and "Patriot" are two words that are not mutually exclusive. That should tell you whatever you need to know.
All I'm going to do is just ask anyone who's reading this to just stop.
That's it. Just stop.
Stop whatever you're doing right now (or avoiding doing since you're reading this blog). Stop forwarding inflammatory e-mails. Stop sharing partisan Facebook posts. Stop yelling at the top of your internet voice about the horrors of the other side's viewpoint.
Just stop.
And once you've stopped, start "Being".
Be the person who listens to the other sides' viewpoint.
Be the person who looks for common ground in order to move the discussion forward.
Our country is tearing itself apart from the inside right now. I've seen posts from people who say, "It would be better to let it all crumble down and start over."
I don't agree. I hope you don't either. It's not too late.
Patrick Henry, an American patriot, said in his last public speech, "United we stand. Divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs."
We're falling now, but we can still catch ourselves. We can be the America we're supposed to be, but it has to start with each of us.
Be inclusive.
Be caring.
Be a leader.
Be an example.
And most importantly, be human and remember that the people you've been shouting at are human too.
3 comments:
Sometimes that's hard to do, like when I read about Pat Robertson blaming the Vegas shootings on disrespect for Trump and anthem. I feel corrections are needed, that people reading and believing such gobshite need a Tom and Jerry style smack on top of the head with an outsized cartoon mallet. Then I realize that ain't my job and I shake my head, mutter under my breath, and move on.
If the North Koreans actually cobble together a working ICBM nuke from used auto parts and paperclips, set off an EMP blast and wipe out everyone's electronic communications capabilities, I think these people polluting the Internet wouldn't last a day touting their moonbat ideology face to face with their neighbors and friends. Of course, the whole breakdown of civil society and pending nuclear war thing wouldn't make me wish for that option.
Yours is a much better option. The Golden Rule abides.
I agree with you. When I hear stuff like that coming out of Robertson and people like him, I feel it's the most irresponsible thing that a leader could do. Make no mistake, Robertson is a leader. He has a following and those people are going to stand by him when he says something like that and they're not going to want to remotely entertain the idea that his viewpoint may be wrong.
So yeah, it's tough to do and it's tougher when you're not afforded the same respect from the people you're trying to discuss things with. You have to be persistent and you have to just keep working those angles to get them to see your side.
The temptation to just scream back, middle fingers in the air, is pretty high.
I totally agree with you, Cary. I often go days without climbing on social media, especially after a tragedy happens, because I can't stand the vitriol and hatespeak. Even my mother is guilty of it. It just wears me out.
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