I can’t count the number of times I’ve received angry, threatening, and insulting messages from strangers on social media when I’ve expressed a calm, unemotional concern about anything remotely political. I’ve been reported and banned for asking a simple question, because people wrongly perceive that I am on “the opposing side” of the issue. (They misjudge me; I just like a healthy, philosophical debate.)
Let’s do something novel. I challenge us all to act in a way they don’t expect, something shocking that nobody’s doing: let’s forgive each other, love everyone, and find common ground instead of fighting amongst ourselves. The people who feed us information about current events want us to fight and demonize the “other side” because when they keep us divided, they win.
Division and squabbling are how they rule us. What would freak them out is for us all to unite and become one. Practice love instead of fear and anger.
What if — hear me out — what if the next time someone on the internet makes you mad their their “ignorance” and political opinions, you stop yourself from posting a nasty, insulting reply, and instead post “I hear you and although I disagree, I see you as a human being like myself and I wish you well.”
The goal is not to win political arguments with family and strangers on the internet. The goal is to not be brainwashed. The world needs more free thinkers, not more anger.
When we’re divided, they win. We are ruled as slaves when we are polarized. Then we can’t come together to make a plan to change the world to benefit us all.
Here’s something nobody’s talking about: it is actually possible to align with a political party, a ‘side’, but not agree with 100% of what that party stands for. It’s not embarrassing to be happy about SOME of the policies that the other side wants to implement.
When you realize this and really own it, you realize how the rest of humans in our collective are on a spectrum with you, and there isn’t ‘us’ vs. ‘them’. We can start to come together in compassion and forgiveness when we see ourselves in others. But when they’ve convinced us that people we’ve never met are pure evil, we all lose. We are ruled when we’re divided.
Here is an example that baffles me: If I say I support holistic health, people think automatically that I’m conservative. How does one thing relate to the other? Surely all of us believe in some level of natural healing, even if it’s sometimes blended with a ‘traditional’ modern approach. We’ve become so polarized that a spiritual approach to health is believed by many people to have no common ground with science. This is sad and also false.
What’s even crazier is that when I say that I believe we should stop our petty squabbles on the internet about political viewpoints, people think that means I support the current administration. If I say I want everyone to live and forgive each other, there’s always someone who will appear to call me nasty names and say I’m evil. Yes, I must be evil because I want everyone to get along.
If I say anything that remotely indicates that I accept people who don’t agree with me, both sides attack me. This article itself will draw a few of the strongest of opinions and hate comments — if it doesn’t, I’ll be pleasantly surprised! People want to stay mad. They want to hate. And the people in charge keep their power when we embrace these negative reactions to each other.
All I’m asking is that everyone stop and think reasonably for a moment. What do you know? What do you believe? How did you come to this opinion? What are its roots? Is it possible you are wrong, or you misjudged someone?
Is this worth causing more conflict in the world, or is there a way you might see the person you hate so much as a fellow human being?
It comes down to you. Choose to get along with others peacefully — you can only control yourself, after all. And you’ll get no help from the people who are benefitting from the squabbling we do — it is your task to do it without validation. But maybe you’ll set a domino effect of kindness in effect.
The path forward is only a path forward when we are on it together, not when we’re fighting against each other. Learn to have compassion for your fellow man, whatever they believe. We’re all on this journey of life together, whether we like it or not.
