In three weeks, half of my friends are going to be very
disappointed. The election will be
over and in each contest one
candidate will win and one will lose.
Hopefully, we can all look forward to freedom from caustic ads and the
obsessions of our friends over the election. After the election, I hope all of my friends are still
speaking to each other.
I’d like to offer a few words for finding common ground and
making peace with each other.
First, forget the angry words spouted by entertainers. We’ve heard some particularly nasty comments
this election season. When the
election is over. It is time to
recognize that some famous people are willing to manipulate the populous for
their own profit. Let’s ignore
them and move on toward a goal of loving our neighbors.
I’ve heard numerous stories about the evils that this
candidate or another will commit if elected. Reality check:
None of us can foretell the future. Will any elected candidate behave in the predicted
fashion—either for good or evil? I
don’t know. Nobody knows. When the election is over, it is time
to stop worrying about what someone might do. You’ve done the best that you knew how in your choices at
the polls. Now, it is time to
trust in God to provide for you and practice loving your neighbor.
We’ve tried, over the past few months, to dialogue on issues
close to our hearts. In many cases
both the pro and con sides of the discussion have wanted the same outcome. Our disagreement has been over how to
get from where we are now to where we want to be. Do we regulate more? Less? About the
same? Do we pass new
legislation? Do we enforce
existing legislation? We disagree
on how to accomplish our goals.
Most of those disagreements are based on ideologies that will not work
without compromise. It is time to
set aside our favorite opinion on how to accomplish our common national goals
and practice loving our neighbors.
Yes, our country has a great deal of work to do to restore
economic stability, safety in our communities and the security of all members
of our country. We may be battling
some huge forces of evil, but I think if we work together, we-the-people can
grow our county to a position of physical security, economic stability and
peace. The government cannot do
this for us even if they were inclined to try. As long as we are divided we cannot heal. Our first step is to set aside our
anger and sense of self-righteousness. We need to take a look around us and take action based
on love for our neighbors.
Now is the time to ask yourself, “What can I do to help heal
my nation?” I think we will all
find different answers. For
myself, I will continue to write books, garden organically, care for my foster
daughter and prayerfully worship God.
Healing is possible, but it must begin with all of us making the
decision to love our neighbor.
