Two words have been in the news almost constantly lately: “protest” and “counter-protest”. Now, I am not against people having a voice—it is called “dialog”. I am opposed to people yelling over each other.
I am not even concerned about the subject of the protests and counter-protests. (Let me rephrase that– The issues at the heart of the protests concern me—in some cases, more or less—but the particulars of the protest/counter-protests are not of the matter for discussion in this post.) What concerns me is that we are not talking about issues. We are not having intelligent discourse. We are witnessing incoherent emotional rants and destructive rather than constructive behavior. Nothing productive is coming from all of this noise.
I just read an article in the NY Times, titled: “Why I Refuse to Avoid White People” by Chloé Valdary (August 22, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/opinion/avoiding-white-people-charlottesville-racism.html). Now, the subject was racism, but it could have been any of the divisive topics de jour. Ms. Valdary makes a beautiful statement:
“I was taught that if someone white makes assumptions about me or my people, the proper response is not to go around making assumptions about them. That creates a downward spiral into hatred fueled by ignorance. The proper response to prejudice is not to treat our close-minded neighbors as though they weren’t human; that is how they have treated us. It is precisely because I love myself that I refuse to hate another.”
Now this could be applied to any argument where “assumptions”, “ignorance”, “close-minded”, and “hate” preside. At the center of the statement (almost literally) is the key: “That creates a downward spiral into hatred fueled by ignorance.” We are in that downward spiral, folks. It needs to stop! The only way to stop it is to ignore the voices of the irrational extremes. (This is the United States of America where the freedom of speech is supported, after all. So, they have the right to speak, but we, likewise, have the freedom to not listen.) Ignore the ranting, but welcome our neighbors to the table. Seek unity, not discord.
I trust that, when the voices of reason are heard, we can come to the solutions to the challenges we are facing—solutions, not merely compromises. This is America, after all. The melting pot. The nation that is (should be) the leader in the progress of freedom and liberty. Please, let’s keep the “united” in the United States of America.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow!
Carpe momento!
Image source: LA Times