What Happened?
"…go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."
~Donald J. Trump, son/grandson of immigrants to the United States
The news has been filled to overflowing the past few of weeks with the words and actions of the man who holds the highest office in our country, and those actions are an embarrassment to that office and to the country it represents. This is not about politics…this is not about picking sides for who you feel will lead our great nation back to respectability with our fellow nations of our ever-shrinking globe. This, my friends, is about human decency and the efforts to bring the people of a nation together for the good of us all versus the extraordinary efforts to split us apart using fear and hate to keep us from truly reaching our full potential as members of the human race.
First let me say, that no one person is perfect…but in our daily walk, we should always strive to be the best version of ourselves and give a helping hand to our neighbor if and whenever possible. Too many people have become so jaded that they can no longer listen to rational lines of thoughts and thus close off their mind to discussion. We as a people are better than that. We, as a people, are full of kindness and love. We, as a people, can truly make a difference in our own lives as we reach out of our comfort zone to help those around us. I believe that humanity…the people around us, are basically good, but that mob mentality can twist that goodness towards cruel ends. We all have fears, but we cannot nor should not let those fears dictate our behavior to accept and normalize hatred. I want to repeat that, we, as a society, cannot and should not let our fears lead us to accept and normalize hatred in any form.
I confess, it disturbs me greatly that I find myself having to write about this topic today because I thought, as a country, we were moving beyond bigotry…we were moving past blatant and outright hatred for our fellow man. I am the first-generation son of an immigrant on my father’s side and a distant descendant of an immigrant on my mother’s side. Chances are that whoever is reading this and living in the United States, you’re the descendant of an immigrant too! One thing that has always made our country so strong and unique is that we have been the great melting pot of the world…as immigrants have come here, they have added their culture to our ever-evolving nation. Our language, music, art, food, government, system of law, and even religion…everything we know and do has been brought here by someone else. The United States is a cauldron in which our predecessors have tossed culture into the mix to make us who we are today. As different waves of immigration came to America at different times from different parts of the globe, there was always fear and bigotry…but as a nation we should have evolved beyond that…and yet, here we are again.
From the bible, in the book of Matthew, Jesus tells his followers that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart and the next greatest commandment is like the first in that, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. [Matt 22:39]. If you are a follower of the golden rule then, “Do onto others as you would have them do onto you.” In short, humanity should be about striving to get along with each other in a loving and compassionate manner. Treat others with respect and if they shun that respect, keep showing compassion. My mother always said that if someone is being intolerant and shortsighted, shower them in kindness…show them the light of happiness through kindness and compassion and they will soon change their behavior. It works…more times than not, kindness and love will win out over hatred…try it, you may be surprised.
I am not trying to sway your political views…that would be a folly on my part. What I am blatantly trying to do is to have you examine your own beliefs and behaviors towards humanity. If you accept the new status quo that hatred and bigotry is ok, what does that say about your core beliefs? If hatred and bigotry is not ok in your book of core beliefs, then what are you prepared to do about it? Silence is acceptance to hatred…take a stand and reach out. If I lift you up, we all rise…this is my mantra, it is a core belief that has developed in myself over the last twenty years…and I hope to instill that belief in my children as they grow. Kindness is free, a smile is free, these things cost us nothing but can mean the world to the person on the receiving end. People, we need to end the hate rhetoric and start working on embracing our fellow human for the betterment of us all. We need to set aside our fears and go about our work of making this world a better place to live, not just for our children, but for ourselves too.
Take care of yourself, and each other, remember, we’re all in this thing together.
Wm Reid
Best Home Care Services
325 N Eastern Ave
Connersville, IN 47331
765-827-9833
wmreid@bhcshealth.com
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