Choose
to be Kind
“I want
to leave a legacy of kindness, a compassionate wake in the waters of
this world so that others who are similarly fatigued by the hatred
they encounter here find rest in me.”
John
Pavlovitz (“I'm Really Tired of Hatred,” Stuff That Needs to Be
Said, January 16, 2020)
Please read John
Pavlovitch's article on hatred at his website, Things That Need to Be
Said. He expresses the overwhelming fatigue we all feel today from
the constant tension that has permeated this country for the last few
years. I hear people say each and every day, “I'm so tired of
this.” and by “this” they mean all the anger and chaos that
comes from our politicians. The rhetoric coming from Washington, DC,
from our president and others, is simply wearing this country down.
We are tired of defending ourselves and our beliefs; tired of having
people we love attack us for seemingly everything we say when it
comes to politics. I am personally tired of being called a “socialist,” and
even a “communist,”simply because I believe that health care
should be available to all human beings in this country. I'm tired of
“liberal” being a curse word. I am not the lunatic fringe simply
because I don't want to spend billions of dollars to construct a
thirty-feet-high wall on our southern border. I was born and raised here, and I deserve the same respect as every other person. And
here's the worst part—I'm tired of being angry all the time.
It's exhausting.
If we are to stay glued
together as the United States of America, we must give up the idea
that this country belongs only to one group of people—it's not just
a white-peoples' country. At the same time, all white people are not
hateful brats. Some of us truly care that our black and brown
brothers and sisters are being systematically discriminated against.
We cheer on our neighbors of color who achieve the American dream.
While all of us have been raised in a racist, homophobic society, not
all of us drank the kool-aid. At least, we're trying to learn that
what we say and do is sometimes offensive and hurtful. Please, cut us
some slack, even if you don't think we deserve it!
While we are exhausting
ourselves with all the hatred being fueled from the top down, things
are being done to undermine our very existence; climate-change is
sweeping away our farmland and burning down our communities. Our
young people are constantly marching off to fight wars of our own
making. Two-thirds of the country's wealth has shifted to the already
rich. The gap between the top and the bottom wage earners is
widening exponentially, and our deficit is stacking up. Please, please, let's stop
fighting each other and concentrate on healing the wounds we've
created.
Love is the only balm
that can heal such brokenness. It begins with us. We can't wait for
others to choose to be kind and compassionate before we ourselves
are. We must lead the way. Let's choose love today. Let's give up all
this exhausting hatred.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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