Our country seems to be in a state of flux these days. There is so much anger and disrespect, it's hard to have any conversations about our personal thoughts and beliefs. I am reminded of a conversation in one of my college courses. I was a human studies major and one of our core classes was "the relationship with the other". As we discussed other humans as the "other", we talked about values and why we choose the people we do to hang out with.
One of the women told a story of the group she hung out with - beer drinking, music loving pals. They were friends for several years. One day, one of the men divulged that he was a skin head. They all froze. This went against all the things they believed. But she began to question - Is he different now than he was the day before? Did this information change the foundations of their friendship? Some of the group decided it did. But she decided it did not. This was part of who is was and what shaped the person she had grown to love. They had some long discussions about why he felt this way. I don't know if he ever changed, but her attitude certainly changed me.
Another remark made by the same very wise young lady, was about people we would normal turn away from - that dirty homeless person or the person that is getting signatures for an issue we disagree with - her question was simple. What is their story? She took the time to start conversations with people to understand who they were. She did not judge, she simply listened.
At the end of our discussion, the instructor stated, "it is important to hear alternating points of view. It does not mean we need to marry them, only entertain them".
In today's divisive political culture, I think these things are important to remember. I don't have to agree with you, but I can learn by listening and being respectful of your ideas and belief systems. And in doing so, I would hope you would do the same for me.
But back to veteran's day. Do we respect the people who have dedicated, even given their lives for us to be able to disagree by treating each other so disrespectfully? Let's start showing our gratitude for these sacrifices by appreciating the fact that we can disagree.
We live in a great country, regardless of all the negativity we are currently experiencing. So I for one say thank you. Thank you for wearing that uniform and reminding me of how truly blessed we are to live here.
