It’s Time To Step Away From The Comments Section

There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the highest creed. 

Woodrow Wilson

Right now the times seem fractured

It’s peak political season here in the US. Most of the people I talk to are so tired of it, like 2 years ago. The mud slinging and ugliness have been given about one hundred energy drinks and it has caused everything to kick into high gear. I have a hunch. The voices that are the loudest on both sides of the aisle are not the voices that speak for us normal Americans. We have a little corner shop near our house with the nicest people. They have immigrated from India. Their whole family works at the store. I’ve gotten to know them over the years. I had not been to the store for a good while.  I stepped in the store to get some ginger beer, (really, really strong ginger ale) and the owner was very glad to see me. He asked all about my family and life in general. After we finished the pleasantries he said, “I’ve wanted to move to America since I was a little boy. I saw that you can come here and do anything. I left my home because I dreamed of this great country. What I see right now makes my heart sad. I know what I left unemployment, scarce food, poverty and very little space to exist. You all don’t know just how good you have it here. I hope that we can get past this ugly place we are in at the moment.” Truer words could not have been spoken.

It’s time to reach across the aisle and shake hands

When I was growing up, I had a deep fascination with politics. At the age of 13 I knew all of the cabinet members of President Clinton. I’m not kidding. I have tried to read the biography of each president, even if they were not particularly my favorite. Why did I do that? I felt it was important to understand where that president’s philosophy came from. What made them tick. Politics was not discussed in my family really. It was considered rude to even discuss another person’s private politics in polite company. I do remember when all the scandal surrounding the Clinton administration came about. I did hear some adults discussing the scandal, but it was a respectful discourse. One memory that I had of that time was the moment that President Clinton and Newt Gingrich crossed the aisle to work together to reform Social Security. Sure, both men had hurled their political stones at one another, but they were statesmen at heart. They believed in working together to get things done for the betterment of the country. We must put into practice the art of agreeing to disagree and doing it respectfully.

The time has come to stop reading the comments section

Comments section? Yes. I do it. I am sure others do it. That is where the trolls lie in wait to divide us. You can’t watch a puppy video without someone hurling an ugly word in there. It’s gross and a joy stealer. The comments section is where those trolls want us to dwell so that we can be miserable keyboard warriors like them. Don’t give them the power. If you don’t agree with something or someone perhaps take a moment to learn their perspective. Sometimes they are just misunderstood. That may not be the case but I do think that we all want the same things in life. Security, love, stability and a better place for our children. Let’s start a new movement. Let go of the comments section and try to learn something new about something or someone you don’t understand. 

Pray like you’ve never prayed before

There is a scripture in 2 Chronicles 7:14. Now, before you Biblical scholars come for me I know that the actual set up and verse involves Israel. If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land. Even though this scripture was given to Israel the concept rings true. How often in scripture have we been admonished to pray? Prayer is mentioned over 650 times in scripture. I think prayer is pretty important. 

Hate and bitterness must be decreased

One of the reasons that I stopped “dwelling” in politics regularly was that I had become very, very bitter. It was like poison was being fed by an IV into my soul and spirit. I was very bitter. It took a moment but through practicing forgiveness and asking for forgiveness that root shrunk. I am not advocating burying your head in the sand. However I do advocate a measured and deliberate start time and cut-off time for consumption of news and social media. There are times that I am absolutely thrilled that I grew up during the time when you rode your bike until the sun went down. We didn’t have a smartphone. Social media was playing outside with our friends. It’s time to slow the IV of rhetoric. How often is a story posted without any real information? It is a video snippet of something that may be much larger. The seed of bitterness starts to get planted when we don’t have all the information. Wait. Be patient. Let time tell the story. That way the bitterness can’t take hold. 

Touch some grass and try to understand one another

Yesterday my children, (they are all adults but they will always be my children) asked me if the climate was always this volatile. I answered with an emphatic, NO! Several years ago you could say, I don’t like your choice of candidate, to which you would answer okay and you would move on with your lives. You could be friends with folks who completely believe differently than you and coexist. We respected each other’s humanity and right to choose who they voted for. How times have changed? I often tell my kids to get off the phone, go outside and touch some grass. After that, learn something new. Those voices are loud and hateful. Let us raise our voices higher with kindness to one another even if our beliefs are different. I often hear Bill Maher say, “We’ve got to live here together, we must learn to respect again even if they don’t vote for your guy.” He is so right. 

Let’s respect each other’s humanity. I leave you with the words of Ronald Reagan: “If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” Let us Pray for Peace and Civility to come upon our land.