Us vs Them
2020 has been a year of many things... most of all, it's becoming a year of "Us vs Them".
- Us vs Republicans
- Us vs Democrats
- Us vs mask wearers
- Us vs non-mask wearers
- Us vs the police
- Us vs Black Lives Matter
- Us vs teachers
- Us vs Fauci
- Us vs Trump
- Us vs Biden
- Us vs AOC
- Us vs governors
- Us vs people who kneel for the National Athem
- ... on, and on, and on we could go.
Us vs Them
It's truly an unfortunate place we are in... the Us vs Them mentality. Everywhere you look, it's Us vs Them. Everyone's been pushing this mentality. I've been guilty of it. And I understand where it comes from... at least with me. You see an injustice. You hear lies. You witness the destruction of people's lives. And it confuses you. Then it frustrates you. As you see more, it makes you angry. Then, as you watch tv and scan the internet and social platforms, you see other's comments. You see more lies and injustice and destruction. And the voices you listen to paint this picture of the Us vs Them mentality.
It's, if you're not for us, then you're against us. The Us vs Them mentality takes us to all out war. That's what you're seeing when you walk through the stores in your community. The looks of disgust at the signs requiring masks. The mask-shaming from those who wear their masks perfectly towards those that either don't wear them how you think they should or even wear them at all. You see it when grown adults scream at little kids in a grocery store and tell them that the person with the mask on hopes they will die. You see it when people who wear masks in their cars get made fun of. You see it when a white supremacist punches a lady. You see it when someone who votes for Trump is called a racist for no reason. You see it when people make posts and rants about those that choose to kneel for the National Anthem. You see it in the debate about going back to school from teachers and parents alike. You see it when people scream racist remarks at black officers at the protests. You see it in our politicians... both left and right. Local and federal. You see it on the "news" channels... both left and right... national and local.
You see it everywhere.
It's no wonder that as we look out into humanity today that very few of us sees humanity as human beings. Instead... we see each other as enemies. It's no wonder that as we look out into our cities, that we see destruction and despair. We've allowed it to be created. You. Me. Each one of us. We've allowed it to take shape and be built into what it was... into what it now is.
The Us vs Them mentality...
It's destructive. And it's not how we're designed to live. Unfortunately, there are far too many people that are pushing this type of mentality. And we need to run far away from those people who are looking to push this crap into our brains.
- Shaun King
- Tucker Carlson
- Joe Biden
- Trump
- Don Lemon
- Pelosi
- Ben Shapiro
- ...
The list could literally go on and on. The Us vs Them voices are everywhere on both sides. It's what makes good tv. It's what creates the most shares and likes. And it's much easier to destroy others than it is to build them up. The message of 2020 is quite literally...
Us vs Them
And we need to run FAR from these voices. Refuse to listen. The very people who tell us it's Us vs Them aren't trying to unite anyone. They aren't trying to bring harmony to humanity. They're trying to bring war between neighbors. It's not an agenda of peace. It's an agenda of power. Each one of them.
Socialism isn't the biggest issue in society. Racism isn't the biggest issue in society. Democrats. Republicans. None of this is the biggest issue in our society.
The biggest issue in society right now...
The Us vs Them mentality.
We need to refuse to listen to those that push this mentality. We need to silence them by coming together. It's not Us vs Them. It has never been designed to be that way. It's me for you. You for me. It's being FOR each other. Swallowing our pride. It's listening to each other's fears and scars. It's hearing each other out. It's not assuming someone's a racist. It's knowing that black lives do matter and not having to bookend it with a, "but all lives matter too." It's denouncing violence against our nation's police officers. And it's understanding that when someone kneels during the National Anthem, they are expressing their freedom of speech. It's speaking out against those that are rioting.
It's me. Understanding you. And you understanding me. It's coming together to call evil for what it is. And it's valuing and loving every life as a human being.
It's the first week of August. The second half of the year has just gotten started. Let's redefine this year from Us vs Them to...
Me FOR You... building everyone up together.
The Jeep Wave
The Jeep Wave... it's a real thing...
It's one of the things that I love most about owning a Jeep. We can literally be driving down the road and as we pass another Jeep Wrangler driving by, both of us wave at each other. Essentially, we show each other some love.
I wasn't alive during the 60's, so I only have 44 years to reference from. But this day, more than ever, seems like our country is divided in every area. Everywhere we look we can see hate. The news. Hate. Social media. Hate. I watch the way people debate and hear the things that are being said... hate and more hate. We are not the United States of America at this point... We are the Divided States of America... in almost every corner... except the Jeep.
I know this seems funny and maybe even trite to say, but riding in a Jeep is a connection point to people. It doesn't matter who passes by, there's always a wave. Two very different individuals enjoying the same type of thing waving at and being good to each other. This past weekend I really took notice of who was in the Jeep passing by each other. We passed by white drivers... wave. We passed by black drivers... wave. Latino drivers... wave. Young drivers... wave. Older drivers... wave. It didn't make any difference who was driving our Jeeps... we all waved at each other.
But seriously, this got me thinking. What if this was the picture of the church? What if this was the picture of America? What if the body of Christ all came together and was good to each other? What if America came together and was good to each other? Democrats? Republicans? Can it happen? I think it can. And it starts with me.
That's the message I'm trying to send to my own children. The answer doesn't lie in social media. It doesn't lie in cute posts that point to someone else's post. It's not found in me telling someone else what they should or shouldn't do. My message to my own children is best taught by my actions... by
Doing.
The.
Next.
Right.
Thing.
What conquers hate? Jesus and living my life how He lived His. But maybe you're not ready to do that yet... so the next best thing that conquers hate is doing the next right thing... whatever that may be.
I have, and will continue to do the next right thing. I hope you will too.
We Didn't Start the Fire
I've literally typed up three different blog posts for today. Non of them do any justice to what's happening in the United States of America.
So today's blog will be a virtual moment of silence...
What our country needs, is not more outrage... our country needs more brokenness.
Brokenness about racism
Brokenness about hate
Brokenness about violence
Brokenness about looting
Brokenness about destroying businesses
Brokenness...
When our country and people are broken about these injustices, then true change will come about. That's my prayer going forward, God make me broken for the injustices in our country and use me to help make real changes.
If you choose, feel free to use the comment field to write your prayer below...