The current state of the world certainly looks bleak. However, here in America, the energy seems particularly negative. It seems that now more than ever we as a nation are divided on political, social and humanitarian issues. This has been the golden opportunity for people to tear down others based on where they stand on said issues. Now I will be the first to tell you I am also guilty of this. I'm a bleeding-heart liberal, whiny SJW that screams internally anytime I hear someone say "All Lives Matter." I'm a human being. I let my passionate thinking get in the way of recognizing that we all are in fact much more alike than we care to admit.
We tend to conclude that the more arguing and brawling we do with the "other side," the further we get toward the change we wish for. That is why we are seeing so many protests turning violent. People throwing things at protesters, shouting hateful and violent words and ultimately killing each other. We believe that if we beat into people's heads that what they're thinking is dangerous and wrong, it will eventually get to them. Unfortunately, that's far from the truth.
I urge anyone striving to create change in our current society for the better, heed this old and wise advice: You will catch more flies with honey, than with vinegar. Take it from former Neo-Nazi and activist Christian Picciolini, who says about his experience with compassion from others, "I had never in my life engaged in a meaningful dialogue with the people that I thought I hated, and it was these folks who showed me empathy when I least deserved it, and they were the ones that I least deserved it from."
He goes on to say that the people he used to hate were the ones who, with their unlimited and unconditional compassion, helped him recognize his wrongdoing. It was their patience and kindness that pulled Picciolini out of his hateful past.
Since this philosophy applies to everyday life and not just for times of protest, we as a nation should reflect on one of the oldest lessons we were taught as children: if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything. Have fruitful and passionate discussions with people you disagree with, engage in arguments with them, but being mean or violent to get your point across will not work. Be respectful of one another, and should you gain the same respect back, hopefully, you find something in common. No matter where we stand on any issue, we will find that the similarities we have with each other greatly outweigh the differences. After all, we all bleed red.
