The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness WILL NOT overcome it. #tbtg #lovewins 

Whoever wins in November, we will all still be neighbors and coworkers. I hope we can build bridges across what divides us, and encounter the surprise of divine love hidden within and radiating from the face of the other.

Over the next 28 days (and beyond) I am recommitting myself to contribute to the goal of respect and understanding rooted in love of neighbor and even love of those we would label as enemy.

Let us show the candidates the kind of country we want (and who we want them to be) by how we treat each other, not by how the reality TV stars we watch treat each other.

My own tweeting and posting may have been cathartic (probably not really) but it was not helpful or edifying in the long run. (The one exception may be those posts which expressed concerns for people who experienced renewed trauma around the expressions of rape and abuse culture. “Lord, in your mercy…”)

In the wake of #debate debacle, I’m more convinced than ever that what is most important for people of faith to do, what is most important for me to do, is learn and practice the discipline of listening across difference. We do and will continue to disagree on so much that is fundamental. And yet we must learn to #coexist or we will devolve into some post apocalyptic vision from the literature of our childhood (Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm) or of our present cinema (Hunger Games, Maze Runner).

It may be that the candidates will devour each other, which we can’t stop. But we have to live together, which we can learn to do. We can stop demonizing the other simply because we don’t understand them. We can recognize that so much fear and pain hides behind all of our strong aversive reactions to the candidates, and have compassion for that in ourselves and others. 

This is my personal goal. If I fall short, I would appreciate having this brought to my attention in a respectful way. If I can help you through this season similarly, let me know. and if I’ve said or done something that exacerbates how difficult this journey is for you, I am sorry. Please let me know and help me understand how to avoid that in the future.

Let’s pray for and encourage each other, supporting each other through this dark and chaotic time. There is so much goodness in the world, and even in those who frustrate or disturb us. We must not white wash death and decay, but neither should we demonize people made in God’s image simply because we see and hear evil at work around them.

#trump #maga #hillary #bettertogether