Let There Be Light

I don’t know about you, but I was hopeful that after the presidential election, all of the negativity would simmer down and people would get back to the business of their lives. It seems that’s not the case, people are even more inclined to post any kind of media that supports their position and viewpoint. As I try to get away from the natter it occurred to me that our world has dramatically changed. 

Looking back two generations, our grandparents went to work, happy to be employed. They didn’t judge the job based on the personality of the owner, in fact, they may or may not have even known the owner personally. Even if the owner was a poor example of an upstanding citizen, that did not affect their willingness to show up, do a good job, and collect their paycheck. In today’s world where the Internet gives every one a platform to voice their opinions, we know more about people’s every whim of an opinion. Back to those earlier generations, they used good sense to not talk about sex, politics, and religion with company or co-workers. In fact, I recall a conversation with a friend who was touting who he hated and why. Big sigh. The idea that people live with hating others seems like such a waste of energy that could be used to create something good. But that’s another subject for another post. My comment was, “How would you feel about your heroes if you could hear them discussing how they really feel about these sensitive subjects?” Maybe we could see people for who we know them to be, work with them to earn our living, and not need to know every little nook and cranny of their every thought and feeling. Less is more, the older I get the more I realize I don’t want every conversation to be a debate and I don’t need to participate in every conversation. This is a far cry from the young woman I was 25 years ago, heck, even 7 or 8 years ago.

As I wrap my head around this idea, I wonder if the idea that every single opinion must be heard, must be discussed, and is important, is contributing to the elitist attitudes of the millennials and younger. Just because someone has an opinion that you disagree with, is it necessary to hate them? To boycott anything they touch or work on? First of all, if you disagree so strongly, why move forward giving them the power to influence your decisions and how you feel, more importantly, how you are making those around you feel. And the name calling! I’m reaching a point that adults who feel the need to use vulgar expletives about people who voice opinions they disagree with (and they don't even know personally), well it tells me so much more about said name-caller than anything at all about the other person. Have we really reached a point of hysteria that mature, highly educated adults have regressed to middle school name calling? Where did the ability to just smile and nod while you walk away go? I’m wanting a smaller sphere, quality is becoming so much more important to me than quantity. Don’t get me wrong, I am not looking just for people who are like me, I love a good debate, but let’s debate with respect. Let’s share our viewpoints with the hope we can find understanding, not just to be right. Seek to understand and then to be understood. If we can’t agree, let’s agree to disagree and continue to see the good in each other