By David Ficarri
Diversions With Dave
A little hypothetical scenario for you. You’re walking through the grocery store and up ahead you see an elderly person struggling to walk and nearly collapse. What would you do? Would you ask them if they are black or white? Would you ask them if they were gay or straight? Would you ask them if they were Christian, Jewish, Muslim or atheist? Would you ask them if they were Democrat or Republican? Would you ask them any questions other than, “Are you OK?” or “Can I help you?” I’m betting every one of you said you’d do whatever you could to help that person.
Now picture yourself in that same grocery store and you only had one flavor of ice cream to buy or one brand of cereal to choose from. Would you continue to shop there?
I’m guessing you’d get very tired of the lack of variety. I think it’s time we stop obsessing over what boxes we all check and start obsessing over treating each other kindly.
The beauty of this world is to not just celebrate what we have in common but to also celebrate our differences.
The great author Stephen Covey put it this way, “If the two of us agree on everything, then one of us is unnecessary,” he wrote.
We have been programmed for far too long that those we disagree with are somehow our enemies. The fact of the matter is that when we see the world through the prism of someone else’s viewpoint, it opens up so many other doors to our own mind. More dialogue is needed not less but as long as some people want to silence those they disagree with, there will be neve-ending tension among us all.
It then becomes easier to blame the media or others but it’s time we all stop participating in this madness. Your power resides in the ability to choose how you respond, the same way you would choose another grocery store that didn’t provide your flavor or brand. I will never be one to tell you what to think; if anything my goal is to ask you to see the world from a different perspective. That being said, if your emotional loyalty is to a politician you’ve never met and couldn’t care less about your well-being and not to your friends that would do just about anything to help you, then I urge you to take a good hard look in the mirror.
We’re all hurting and we’re all struggling right now. Use that energy for good and watch how the world changes.
Surround yourself with people who don’t always agree with you but always have your best interests in mind. A few years ago, I read something called “The Horseshoe Theory.”
In short, it forced me to look at things in a different light. Those on the far ends of the political debate don’t sit in a linear spectrum.
Rather, they’re more similar in their ideologies than they’d care to admit. While they’re closer to touching like ends of a horseshoe, the vast majority of us reside in the middle.
We essentially all have the same basic needs and desires but those at the end of the horseshoe have hijacked us all into thinking we’re all very far apart. Stop participating and let’s all meet in the middle to make this world a better place.
Which brings me back to the beginning of this story. Insert any person in place of the elderly person and ask yourself does it really matter who they were? We’re all hurting and we’re all struggling right now. Use that energy for good and watch how the world changes.
Now the reality is that the world is filled with great people who want to help their fellow humans. The other part of that reality is that the world also houses some wicked and evil people.
I’m always going to ride the train that’s filled with peace, love and compassion and that train is fueled by the human nature of beautiful souls that would help not just the elderly up but anyone who needs it. As for those who want to fuel the fire of hate and division, we’ll save you a seat on our train and keep our hands extended because once that anger exhausts itself, you’re going to need someone to help you aboard.