Finding Unity

 I'll be honest, this election has been causing me a great deal of anxiety. Our nation is so divided, I wonder how we will ever find unity.

                                       

Despite all the negative talk and hate filled rhetoric, we are all just people, who want very similar things for our lives: basic necessities met; a happy, loving family; a fulfilling job or cause; and a clean, safe place to live. We want to be free and not have our rights taken away. We are spiritual beings as well, who deserve to worship in the way that feels right to each one of us. We want religious freedom, because that's what our nation was founded on.

When I'm walking in the park or through the grocery store, the people I see are just human beings going about their daily lives. I don't know whether they vote blue or red-they're all just people to me. I imagine that's how God sees them...right through the nonsense to the basic humanity.

We exchange pleasantries: smile, politely hold the door for each other and abide by the rules of civility most of the time. I may be surprised to find out someone's political views differ from my own because I wouldn't have expected that of such a kind person (I confess to a bit of judgment there!) Maybe they felt the same.

I feel that it's really sad the way politics tears us apart and can cause people to say and do things that go against the basic rules of society and sometimes, against their own conscience. They listen to everything they're told by a person in power, without fact checking or sitting with it to see if their own God-given inner guidance tells them what's right. History tells us that this is how evil gets a foothold. We are at such a time again and need to heed the warning.

Given this, can we ever find unity? Yes, I believe love is the answer. Personally, I consider myself to be a follower of Jesus: he had some pretty good ideas and showed us how to find unity, if we will only listen and follow his teachings. If we follow him, we can't go wrong, because he said that love is the most important thing. Love, above all else, something that all religions teach as a central tenet: "Love your neighbor as yourself". Keep being kind, show people respect and agape love and eventually, after the dust of this contentious election has settled, we will (hopefully) find our way to unity.