I’ve been on the fence about adding my 2 cents to all that has been going on in our country as of late. As things have gone on my social media feeds have been filled with people supporting one side of the matter or the other. It truly has been overwhelming. The one thing that has really stuck with me is that I’m seeing the same scenario play out over and over. Someone states their opinion or shares a post doing so and seconds later people are posting saying why they are wrong for believing what they posted. There is no respect. No kindness shown, just a blatant “you’re wrong for feeling this way and here’s why.” I’ve even seen an uptick of “If you don’t agree with me then just delete me now” which to me just confirms the idea that has slowly been brewing in the back of my mind. I’ve commented on it here and there in the past but now it’s at a critical level.
Plain and simple, we don’t respect each other anymore. Haven’t for a long time now. There is a general lack of respect at all levels in this country. Starting from the home and moving out into society. People have such a lack of respect of other peoples property, family, jobs and even lives. Yes I said LIVES. Everyone is so busy trying to be heard in their own way we don’t just stop, listen and respond with ” how can I help?” And to that end every one is so worried about stepping on toes that they just try to ignore the problem in hopes that it will just go away. Well, I think we can all agree that that doesn’t really solve anything. It just pushes the problem further down the road for it to be another generations problem. I believe that the problems have been pushed as far as they are going to go and that finally, finally the people are ready to address these things head on.
How do we do that you ask? Well, for starters it’s going to be tough. Tougher than anything we’ve ever faced but I believe that our strongest spirits were sent to this earth at the right time. We are preparing a way for this younger generation to really push the work forward. It is my responsibility as a parent to learn how to be better and do better so that my children can learn from me and then go and do better. If we give this generation coming up the tools to be respectful, to listen, to be compassionate and tough I think we just might be ok.
We cannot keep going the way we are. Every one is yelling so loud ” BLACK LIVES MATTER” ALL LIVES MATTER” POLICE LIVES MATTER” It has almost become a retort now. Like an excuse, when one is said another is thrown in your face. That isn’t right and it just takes away from the issue at hand. Whether we choose to believe it or not facts are facts and there is a serious injustice that runs deep in our country. Why it every became whites/blacks and inferior/superior is beyond me. Skin tone should never dictate how you are treated. It should be by your words, actions and personal merit. I believe a lot of this if not all stems from a lack of respect for one another.
Respect means due regard ( or consideration) for the feelings, wishes, rights or traditions of others. “Basic respect is a right that does not have to be earned. Gaining the respect of others is the next level above this. And this type of respect is earned by what we do and how we act. But getting respect would be impossible without us starting by offering and receiving basic respect.” (http://www.encouraging-appropriate-behaviour.com/blog/index_files/starts-with-basic-respect.php) Basic respect means to judge others on their actions alone. It doesn’t mean to judge them off of race, religion or where they live. It means to communicate in a civil manner. Your words, tone and body language should say, “I want to listen” and not be aggressive. When we listen it helps us start to be able to understand what people need, plus being heard helps build a better relationship.
I know things aren’t going to change over night, we’ve been marching down this road for over 200 years, but we can start, right now, today. We can start showing others respect in our own corners of the world and one day it could change the world. You can start by listening instead of talking, Affirm the matters that are brought up instead of denying things or pretending they don’t exist. Serve, be kind, show some grace and just try to understand where others are coming from. Accept people for who they are, even when they don’t look or think like you. Some of my best friendships are with people who have different views than mine and you know what? That’s OK! We can discuss things in a calm and respectful manner, I get to see her points and she gets to see mine.
My personal plea to y’all is this: Be the Change. Start today. Listen and Go Learn Things.
Till next time!
~ Laura
Life, Party of 4 