Over the past couple of years, the partisanship and
resulting animus between political sides has increased to a level that makes me
wonder if our country will ever be all right. Politicians have managed to
fracture the very fabric that makes American democracy so wonderful. They’ve
managed to so polarize us so that we no longer can be civil to one another. I
don’t care about the politics any more. The most important thing is for the
American people to be kind to one another and to join forces for the common
defense and good of the U.S.A. Therefore, I’m challenging each person who reads
this and asking them to challenge at least one other person.
Each of us needs to find someone to help. These days, that
shouldn’t be such a difficult undertaking. The individual that we search out
shouldn’t be a family member or friend. Instead, the subjects for our projects
should be folks we either don’t know at all or only know in passing. Yes,
co-workers that are not well known can be included.
We don’t want to announce to them that we are about to help
them with some situation. No, our goals are to get to know our choices well
enough to know what they might need. Doing that will require a great deal of
work. We have to spend time with folks enough to discover what areas of their
lives need our help. Now, by help, I am not at all suggesting that we interject
our opinions on what person should or shouldn’t do or what that we impose our
values on them. No, we simply need to find people that we don’t know well and
change that situation.
Once we’ve become familiar with those people, our goals are
to find ways to offer help to them. Oh, yes, some people won’t need anything,
and if that arises, we should choose someone else. For a block of individuals,
financial help might be the key issue. Others could possibly need emotional
support as they struggle with some area in their lives. Perhaps the most
important help for others is simply having someone who will listen.
What is most important about this exercise is that each
person who initiates it should observe the differences that his actions make.
Does the one helped feel better? Does a friendship blossom? What things are
learned by both people involved? Finally, has the act of reaching out to
another person made a difference in how he is perceived?
This exercise takes a little effort and time. The benefits
might be unmeasurable. In either case, I hope that we all might learn to be a
bit more patient and empathetic with those whom we try to help. Who knows? We
might help heal the great divide that now eats away at our country.
If you are brave enough to accept this challenge, let me
know how it turns out. You can remain anonymous, but send an email to joerector@comcast.net
to let me know how things went…good or bad.
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