Talk, listen, do, and take off our blinders!

I have enough people on both sides of the aisle on my friend list. It wasn’t this way before. I unfriended everyone who had strong opinions that were contrary to mine. I soon realized that unfriending friends got me nowhere. I fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your moral compass, have friends who are bigots, racist, sexist, and every “ist” you can think of. Those same friends are loving, loyal, caring, and all of the “ings” on the list. I see no other choice than to create a dialogue with these people and possibly understand why they believe what they believe. Or I can just hate them and lose them. So I have chosen to listen. Listen to what they believe. But I challenge everyone to cite their source. This is a term used in education to give credibility to your argument. Where are you getting your information? Now the problem is that what are real sources anymore? I can find any support for any argument in the world, and it might not be credible, but it aligns with my beliefs. This is dangerous. Because we sacrifice the truth for our, and sometimes other’s, agendas.

Skin in the game. We all argue and show our passion for our beliefs. We try to scream and beat the people who have opposing views through social media. It’s safe. You can say whatever you want to say and click off the app. But I ask, do you have skin in the game? Are you risking anything or suffering for your beliefs, even just a little?

Have someone over to your house who makes you feel uncomfortable, tie your fate to someone who lives a different life than yours, voluntarily suffer. And for fuck’s sake, listen. You don’t have to agree, but listen and you may learn something.

Never in the history of the world have people in power given up their power for a good cause. Think about that when you are posting arguments for people who risk nothing. Divide and conquer is defined as the policy of maintaining control over one’s subordinates or subjects by encouraging dissent between them. Look and sound familiar? Never in my lifetime have I lived in a more polarized country than now. I ask myself, “who does it benefit? and who is leading it?”

We need to talk, listen, do, and take off our blinders.