When I turn on the television (which is not often), open Facebook (which is too often), or open Twitter (which more often than Facebook, unfortunately) I usually am entertained by funny videos or memes. However, in between that I see a large amount of bickering over social issues and poorly edited photos with either "liberal" or "conservative" views attached to them. When I see these arguments and these photos with inaccurate statistics on them I think to myself, "I understand people less than I thought I did."
Are we really that quick to anger? Are we really tied to our own biases enough that we will not even give the other side a chance? What are we doing? I understand that writing this will probably make me seem hypocritical, "Oh, Daniel. Like you've never been in a heated argument or shut someone out because your anger got the better of you." I'm not claiming that. I am a human being just like you who is susceptible to all sins and slip-ups. The point I'm trying to make is that we need to take our time with people. I need to take my time with people. More listening and less bickering will lead us down a path of peace rather than hate and violence. More compassion and mercy will lead us towards love rather than apathy and division. We have divided ourselves too much and I have hope we can still teach each other before our ignorance and pride separate us completely.
Sometimes I why it's so hard to treat people as I treat myself. I've mentioned before that I am a Christian so something I should do is focus on everyone being made in the Image of God. If you want to step away from that view, it's also fine to say that we are all human. Nothing we do or say makes us better or worth more than someone else. We need to look out for each other. Educate, guide, and love each other in the best way we possibly can.
It is always easier to let your emotions get the better of you, but it takes an immense amount of strength to control yourself. Nothing gets accomplished by fighting over different opinions on social media. Nothing gets accomplished by shutting down your neighbor's point before even four words come out of their mouth. So if there really is any point to what I'm saying here it is this: learn to listen and control how you react to things. It's something I think we all need to work on.
