SeleneByMarialyn

I’m saddened, yet hopeful. And I suppose, more than anything, this is my plea.

We cannot continue allowing those in positions of power, or those who wield hateful rhetoric, to convince us that we are enemies to one another.

We criticize politicians for dividing us, yet we willingly carry that division into our communities. Politicians may exploit division, but we have agency in whether it takes root and spreads

How can we ever hope to reconcile our differences if we refuse to recognize the humanity in one another?

We are more than a check mark on a ballot.

How did we get to the point that someone’s entire worth and identity is established by their political party? What happened to nuance? When did everything become so black and white? When did disagreement become synonymous with hatred?

We’ve lost sight that our society is made up of people.  REAL PEOPLE.  Who have hopes and dreams, that have experienced love, heartache, joy, grief, triumph, failure, and everything beautifully complicated in between.

We are infinitely more complex than the labels that have been thrust upon us and the ones we continue to perpetrate ourselves. And I believe we are capable of compassion, understanding, and meaningful change, despite what our current political discourse has us believe.

But if we are unwilling to recognize that potential in one another, then what hope do we have? And when will we acknowledge that we are not merely victims of this division, but active participants.

The hypocrisy has to stop.

We cannot demand to be heard while refusing to listen. We cannot ask for understanding while acting obtuse. And we cannot claim to love our country while alienating half of its citizens and calling them enemies.

IT. HAS. TO. STOP

Somewhere along the way, we conflated understanding with endorsement, compromise with weakness, and disagreement with moral failure. And in doing so, we’ve made having a meaningful dialogue nearly impossible and compromise unachievable.

I don’t believe we will always agree and would contend we shouldn’t. Disagreement is an inevitable, and arguably necessary, part of a functioning democracy.

But  the bigger issue is we’ve forgotten how to disagree without dehumanizing one another. We’ve become so consumed with being right that we’ve lost sight of what it means to be decent.

We may disagree profoundly about what that future should look like or how we should get there. But disagreement does not erase our shared right to be treated with dignity.

And I want to be clear: I’m not suggesting that we overlook harmful rhetoric, excuse discrimination, or remain silent when someone’s rights are threatened.  Acknowledging someone’s humanity does not absolve them.

We can challenge ideas. We can demand accountability. We can call out hypocrisy, cruelty, and injustice wherever we encounter them. But there is a difference between condemning someone’s actions and condemning their entire existence.

I don’t expect anyone to  abandon their convictions. I certainly won’t abandon mine.

I am not naive enough to believe that we will agree on every issue, be able to meet in the middle on each piece of policy, or pretend that all political decisions carry equal consequences.

But I do expect better of us as human beings.

I want my children to grow up in a country where they understand that standing firmly in their convictions and treating others with dignity are not mutually exclusive.

Where they know that being passionate does not translate into being cruel.

Where they can challenge  an idea without humiliating someone, be able to disagree without hating, and recognize that a person is more than a label.

Because long after the campaign signs come down and the next political battle is raging, we still have to live alongside one another.

We still have communities to build, children to raise, neighbors to care for, and a country to share and love.

And surely, that ought to count for something.

Sincerely,

A fellow American who believes we can and should do better.