A few mornings ago I was sitting on the couch enjoying my first cup of coffee while my dogs were snuggled on my lap under a cozy, minky blanket. The house was quiet; I watched the sun get higher in the sky as it shined through the trees and into my windows. I thanked God for such sweet and simple blessings. Picking up my iPad, I opened Facebook. Immediately my sense of serenity was invaded by political posts and people’s opinions of the current state of our country and recent events. I closed the iPad and set it aside. I went back to sipping my coffee and trying to reclaim my peace, and though I’m not a morning person, my mind starting reflecting on some things. I grabbed my journal and jotted down my thoughts. (Disclaimer: This is not intended to be a political post. These are merely general observations that are in no particular order.)
First…Most Americans have no idea what goes on behind the scenes in the theater of politics, especially when it comes to foreign leaders and governments. We do not have security clearance. We do not get daily briefings. We don’t have a cabinet of advisors. In reality, we know very little, although we act like experts. The information that we do have is second and third-hand information, delivered to us by journalists and media outlets, all of whom filter that info through their own personal lens of bias. It’s nearly impossible for humans to communicate in a fact-only, opinion-free way, especially about topics that arouse our passions.
Second thought…What if we all just focused on doing our own jobs better and stopped commenting on everyone else’s job performance? And not just in politics, but in sports and in other public arenas. We go online and complain about how politicians or referees or coaches made such terrible mistakes. How about we just shut up and let them do their jobs? What if everyone followed you around and critiqued your job performance all the time?
Third thought…All this commenting and airing of our opinions only serves to cause division and strife as we force people to pick a side. Because as soon as you state an opinion, you’ve declared a “side.” Then everyone who reads or hears your opinion subconsciously will almost immediately decide if they agree or disagree, thus choosing their “side.” We might justify it by saying we are trying to educate people or we want to hold our leaders accountable, but I don’t think any of us are really that altruistic. Most of the time, whether we realize it or not, we are motivated to post our opinions because we want to be heard, or because we want to be right. We are reacting emotionally. We want to convince people to think the way we think. And let’s just be honest; we like attention. Humans tend to be self-centered, and we live in a culture of infinite opportunities to showcase ourselves. Tweets, selfies, shares, and likes fuel the desire to make everything about us whether we are aware of our motives or not.
Fourth thought…Discussions happen better in person. When we sit behind the safety of our screens, we are free to say things we’d never say to someone’s face. That immediately turns up the heat and we become bolder and more careless with our words. Instead of creating a world with endless opportunities for communication and relationships, our technology has isolated, divided, and driven us to a “us vs. them” mentality. We no longer see the things we have in common with people; we instantly see our differences.
Fifth thought…We continue the “us vs. them” mentality when we speak of groups as a whole, painting their views with a broad brush. “Republicans only care about money.” Really? All of them? “Democrats care more about the lower class.” All of them? “They want….”, “they believe… .” Most marriage counselors will tell you to avoid making statements like, “You never…you always…. .” Why? Because it’s highly unlikely that 100% of the time someone is guilty of what you’re claiming. I would suggest the same logic applies when we make such comments about groups and categories of people. Think, “All blondes are ditzy.” Of course that’s not true. It might be true of some blondes, and if it is, it’s not because they’re blonde. It is incredibly unhelpful and unfair to assume that all members of a group of people share the same beliefs. And so when we lump people into these big ideological groups, we instantly stop seeing them as unique individuals, and that makes it easier to villainize the groups that hold opposing views.
Let’s prioritize being good listeners. Let’s prioritize real, in-person relationships founded on mutual respect and compassion.
“…Let very person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” James 1:19
“Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.” Proverbs 21:23
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1
“Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.” Proverbs 13:3
“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.” Matthew 12:36