Get ready – this is going to get dicey. Folks, we have a huge opportunity here. We have the opportunity to actually make our country better. How? Listen. Be Kind. Think about what other people say from a different view than just, “they are wrong.”
I do not condone violence as a response to being scared, hurt, and angry. However, and this is of utmost importance, people are being violent for a reason. I believe it is the same reason people voted for Donald Trump. People are tired of not being heard, seen, and understood. People need for other people to care about them, about their situation, about their fears and desires, and about how they feel. And we aren’t listening or seeing them. Instead we are reacting out of our own fears, our own anger, and our own self protection.
The people who voted for Trump did so, in large part, because they want drastic change and nothing has changed in years. Trump promises that change, just as Obama did 8 years ago. When a group of people go years and feel dismissed, downtrodden, and unheard, they will find a way to make themselves heard.
The people who are performing violent acts feel the exact same way. They want drastic change from how they are treated, and instead of changing things, they fear (with good reason) that a Trump administration will make it worse. Again, I am not condoning violence, but it screams, “Listen to me. Hear me. Quit dismissing my concerns without even understanding them.”
I have said it before, but I am going to keep saying it, we have got to figure out a way to listen to each other and still be kind. People on both sides are hurting, they are desperate, and they are afraid. If we continue to refuse to hear any side but our own, we will continue to see violence escalate. We are at a critical time in history. We are turning a corner – and we will either be stronger for it or destroy ourselves in the process. We all have our reasons for believing that we are right. I promise that the people who believe differently than you have their reasons too.
If we continue to make our sole purpose to prove each other wrong, we will never make progress. If we truly want people to see our side, we have to listen and actually hear their side. And then, we have to make some effort to try and find a compromise. I know that is a dirty word – but people – look at where we are right now. It doesn’t get any prettier until we – as a collective whole – stop the ugly words, the ugly actions, and the ugly thoughts. On. Both. Sides.
We can blame politicians, we can blame political parties, and we can blame each other, but then we are still in the same place. We can shout louder and louder about how we are right and everyone else is stupid, but then we are still in the same place. We can also listen to others, and without giving up our sacred beliefs, we can be kind in response. When we do that, over and over again, then maybe we won’t be in the same place.
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