The featured image is Pablo Picasso’s “The Dance of Youth.” Red and yellow, black and white, arms are joined in a dance of unity. Sadly, this image is a far cry from the current portrait of America.
After a long hiatus from this blog, I’m compelled to write again because this message feels like it is burning a hole through my heart. Much has happened in the United States of America in the several months that I’ve been away and I would like to compose a letter to a country that is a massive source for good in this world though in our current state, is crippled by division:
For a generation that prides itself on being open-minded, we find ourselves flooded by such blind hatred as the country has not seen for decades, if ever. Freedom of speech is one of the many tenets that makes this country great, but if you choose to use this immense privilege to spread hate instead of love, you become a puppet of propaganda. (Propaganda is information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.) As free citizens, we have each been afforded a platform to spread messages that have the power to bring unity, but by settling for hate speech, we allow ourselves to be dumbed down to the anti-power of division. What good does hate bring? Please remember the words of the great American hero Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
I believe that such mass unoriginality and group-think begins with capable people taking the bait of fear. I would argue that you, fellow Americans, are not a people of fear! We have an inheritance of courage: “The land of the free and the home of the brave.” Please, have the responsibility to learn the full scope of whatever issue it is that you’re so afraid of and determine if it’s worth it. Is fear going to lead you to further unite us or further divide us? Does fear drive you towards hateful thoughts, speech, and action? No good will come of this.
There is one fear that I have that I believe is valid and useful because instead of pushing me towards negative action, it compels me to fight for the noble cause of bringing us together again. It is the fear that we are in the exact cultural/ political climate that Abraham Lincoln warned against paraphrasing words of Jesus in Mark 3:25, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
Another weapon of mass division that is being carelessly ignited all over this country is hurling shame at those with an opposing belief or point of view. Remember that a key tenet of open-mindedness is refusing to judge someone because of political leanings, religion, geographic origins, skin color, etc. Don’t be a hypocrite by operating under the flag of open-mindedness only as it suits your agenda. Let’s look at a couple stories from history that illustrate that shame parades itself as moral righteousness but actually is the exact opposite:
In the New Testament story from John 8, Jesus is questioned by religious leaders of the day who sought to trip him up with their many laws. They had caught a woman in the act of adultery and asked Jesus what to do with her remarking that according to their laws, she should be stoned (form of punishment common in that culture where stones were thrown at the victim to the point of death). Jesus didn’t give a hasty answer but rather waited then said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her (John 8:7).”
Mahatma Gandhi changed the course of his beloved India with a non-violent, hate-void philosophy that first and foremost focused on personal change: “We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him.”
Instead of hyper-focusing on others’ flaws let us put aside such judgement and look rather inward at what rearranging is needed in our own hearts. None of us are in position to throw stones of hate. Do we really want a civil war of words and messages?
I have faith that we are not so self-seeking that we are more concerned with getting our way than we are with the greater good of this nation as a whole.
Lay down your arms and join arms! (Disclaimer: This is not a reflection of my stance on gun control laws but rather a literary device to portray the need to stop the senseless fighting.) Reach across the aisle, across the railroad tracks, and across partisan lines to unite us once again. I’m not under the naive misconception that we can all be in agreement, but I do believe we can be fundamentally unified. Differing opinions, beliefs, backgrounds, etc. make us great, but allowing these differences to give excuse for absolute dishonor and even hate threatens the very foundation we stand upon.