We've protested enough. We've shot at each other enough. It is time for us to sit down and listen to each other. It is natural for people to notices differences. Skin color, ethnicity, politics, religion, socio-economics and a host of other things divide us. We all have a tendency to want to associate with those who are like us. It's is the easy thing to do. But is it the right thing to do? I believe the time has come for each of us to step our of our comfortable cliques and engage with others who are not like us.
When we engage someone who disagrees with us, there is a natural tendency to become defensive. As a wise person said, "We don't listen, we reload." It is time for us to listen. It would be interesting to just listen to another's point of view without feeling we had to defend our own. We would learn. We would gain understanding. It would be a breath of fresh air. It would reliever us of the tendency to always have to be right.
We could change the world... by listening.
Love this. I actually started a forum online about two years ago because I wanted to hear how other people came to such different conclusions than me. I learned that many of my viewpoints were misguided but I also learned that people can be incredibly irrational. It was an excellent experience. Seek first to understand then to be understood.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jacob!
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