The polarization we feel in our world seems a bit artificial to me. Today I attended a football game in the cold. I took refuge in the stairwell of the press box where it was warm and struck up a conversation with an attendant. (A lot of these attendants are in their 50s or older because it comes with a free pass to the games.) He was blaming the countries woes on the Muslims, the lack of values in our youth, the need for instant gratification, etc. In true form, I simply listened but would interject a question or two now and then. I agreed with him that the leaders who had taken control of what are primarily Muslim nations very definitely want to hurt Americans. But, I also suggested that it might be these people are using the Muslim faith to justify what are essentially horrid actions. He had not read the Koran and I shared with him that the faith was actually started when Mohamed rejected the teachings of the Christian church at the time and went out into the desert and came back with a new understanding of what God had said. He rejected Christ as the savior and instead believed people could earn their way into heaven with good acts. I shared that I hadnt found anything in the Koran to justify the slaughter of Christians anymore than I found anything in the Bible to suggest the slaughter done in the name of the Crusades. But, I was no scholar. The game started up and I needed to return to my seat. But, as I left he thanked me and shared that I had given him a lot to think about. I shared that I thought we needed to stop listening to messages of hate. If we did, we would perhaps realize that we care very much about each other. He agreed. If two strangers at a football game can reach that kind of understanding coming from such different perspectives about what ails this country, I have hope for our future. We need to stop the people who are fanning the flames of hate. They are using us hurt each other for their own benefit. They can be stopped by simply not giving into the hate and respecting where each of us is coming from. I didnt tell this man I thought he was wrong to feel the way he did. I listened. I shared his concern. And, then I asked him to consider his views in a different way.....just consider those views. I didnt pressure him to change them at all. Sometimes an atheist will bow her head at prayer time. She does so not because she believes in God, but because she respects the people who believe in God giving the prayer. It is a start.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 07:45:58 +0000
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