Let's Talk.
The last few weeks I have struggled with what I hear in the news and the conversations (both online and off-line) that I have participated in or observed. And it has broken my heart. While I can have some (strong) political opinions myself, the amount of fear and hatred that has drenched the overall culture in the United States recently has truly disappointed me.
The online attacks. The in-person riots. The hateful words. The protests. The tweets. The online articles....The list goes on and on of where we have seen anger (however justified) overtake love the last several weeks.
The one question that has rang through my head repeatedly is this:
"What kind of world am I bringing a son into?"
A bit dramatic? Perhaps.
But as a a soon-to-be father, it honestly is a question I'm asking myself a lot right now.
And I truly have been shocked by the disunity that has escalated since the beginning of 2017.
Regardless of whether you and I have the same religious, ethical, personal, or political views, I believe that there is one thing we can agree on:
"We need to talk."
As I mentioned a few weeks ago in this blog post:
“The best way to deconstruct stereotypes and learn to love and respect others? Talk with them.”
And I am more confident than ever in the truth of this statement. We do need to talk.
We can all too easily presume the background and worldview of others when we jump to conclusions based off of one quote (or blog post). What we really need is a deeper understanding of each other which can only come through time and conversations together.
And I am in as much need of this myself as anyone else. I need to sit down with more people who are different than me and talk. More specifically, I need to listen to them. Learn. And stretch my thinking and worldview to better understand others and, most importantly, to love them.
How will we come together in unity and love?
We need to listen to each other. Get to know those who are different than you are and see them as a HUMAN rather than a STATISTIC or STEREOTYPE.
So it's time for me to listen to you.
Let's talk.
