To say this year has been strange would be an understatement. I’ve never seen our nation more divided and that saddens me. I will be up front for anyone reading, I am a libertarian who leans toward Fiscal Conservatism. I recognize the so called conservatives in office are anything but fiscally responsible. I tend to be a bit more red than purple in a very blue state.
These days cancel culture has taken on a rabid life. Disagreements lead to friendships ending, public shaming or worse. This is an incredible sad commentary on our society. Instead of a open exchange of ideas rooted in the stance of basic respect for one another, we have been divided into camps. If you’re not with us you’re against us and you are my enemy has taken hold of public discourse.
Our oldest daughter, Alicia, many years ago worked with a group of her contemporaries. One of her best friend in the group was “Geoff” (not his real name). Our daughter and Geoff got along very well. They oftentimes hung out after work, going to movies, catching dinner, etc with their other cohorts.
One day, They we’re out galavanting and they stopped for lunch. Geoff lost his happy demeanor and Alicia asked, “What’s wrong”
Geoff somberly told her, “I have to tell you something… I’m gay.”
Our daughter answered, “Yes, I know. What’s wrong.”
Geoff was dumbfounded. He had been carrying this great fear that Alicia, his friend would reject him for being gay. He felt this way because Alicia is Catholic. His parents had used their faith to reject him and he believed Alicia would do the same.
Friendship. Respect. Love. I think we as the family of man, need to get back to some basic respect for each other. I believe we need to relearn how to not be so separated into factions. People are always stronger together. If we are eliminating people from our circle because we disagree or are different, we cannot grow.
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