I was very concerned about the direction of this country before this election and I am concerned about the direction of the country now after the election. We have an opportunity to come together and we need to work to do this, otherwise we all fail.
Listening to Glen Beck today he brought up some interesting points. We have gotten into a mindset of creating things that are "American" and if you don't do these things you are not American. This has created a dangerous path to be on and creates an "us" and "them" stance. This is not what America is about. We have gotten into this pendulum swing of national extremism, which started after 9/11, everyone had to show patriotic colors, support the military, police, firefighters, etc., if you didn't you would be labeled un-american. Then the pendulum began to swing in the other direction, millennials were concerned with the environment, sincerity of the government, being in wars and foreign affairs. If you didn't support the policies of the president you would be labeled a racist, xenophobia, bigot, etc. Now during this election it is swinging back to nationalism, protecting our borders, reduced federal government in our lives, etc. We need to take a hard look at how we are treating people as we swing through these extremes and at some point we need to get back to incorporating biblical principles and civility in our public square, to have love and compassion for our neighbors even when we disagree. The point is that as we support one extreme and the other, we are not coming together to understand those differences. Neither one of these extremes are inherently bad, the problem is, each side is using their "power" over the other when in power. We need to stop the pendulum swing and come back together as a country.
We need to work together for a government that enforces the rule of law, no matter what position you hold. We need to sympathize with those that are different than us and learn to understand them, and work to make a country that allows us all to live with equal opportunity. Those of us that think BLM is all about killing cops need to understand the true reasons behind why BLM is protesting, there are reasons that need to be talked about and understood, a dialog of love, forgiveness, and understanding needs to take place.
We have gotten into a habit of lumping groups together. We say, "All whites are racist" or "All Muslims are terrorists" or "All blacks are on welfare or cop killers". None of these comments are true and it produces hatred and shuts down dialog and an intellectual conversation about the issues that are plaguing this country today that need to be discussed. Let us begin this dialog today. Let us welcome those with opposing views and life experiences and truly understand what they, our neighbors are concerned with. We need to stand together when the rule of law is not being followed or when justice is not being served, even when it is our "side" that is not following those rules, because when the pendulum swings the other way, you do not want the other side to us those same tactics against what you support. Having "your" president work around the Congress to get "laws" enacted that you support is OK, just remember when a president that you do not support gets into office do you want them to do the same thing? We all need to support the rule of law whether a "law" is to our benefit or not otherwise we eventually will have someone in there that creates "laws" that we do not like.
Let our differences not divide us, but let us work through these differences to make us all stronger, if we can work together to address these issues we can overcome. We need to be leaders of integrity to bring us back together. We do not all want to be the same, so we need to work together to create an environment that brings out the good in our culture and the differences we all bring to the table creates an ever changing, evolving, dynamic, and wonderful blend of humanly that you can not find anywhere else in the world. Let us demonstrate the positive side of this melting pot not the negative side.
As Americans we need to come together to unite, understand that what one side is dealing with was what the other side was dealing with 4 years ago. Let us not take "revenge" on the policies and decisions that defined the last 8 years with equal and opposite concern for the other side. This is not the time for a tit-for-a-tat politics. If that is the direction this next president takes, we need to all stand as Americans against them and any policies that go against our principles and Constitution. As Americans and especially Christians we need to take advantage of this opportunity to build a loving, forgiving environment that reflects the love that Jesus has for everyone. We need to take into account the concerns of our neighbors. If we fail to do this, there will be a swing in the opposite direction down the road that will not be favorable for you.
Its time to get to work, let us work together for a greater tomorrow.
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