Sides

I suspect that no matter what side you are on, this past week you have looked on at what has happened in the United States with dismay.

Spreading misinformation, ignoring the facts and flat out disrupting the democratic process has become acceptable in a country once known for being the bastion of democracy. All justified because of what the other “side’ is doing.

Reality check here. There are no sides. We all share a very small planet that is getting smaller by the day.

We are all the same. We want to our children to succeed. We want to live in a healthy and beautiful world, and we want happiness for ourselves.

No matter the side that we have created, if someone is hurting so badly that they insist on seeing the world very differently than you, it is time to figure out why and then how to work with them to find solutions.

It can be within our own families, at work or through politics writ large. Choosing sides means rejecting someone else. This act of rejection by its very nature means disrespecting and disregarding their views. It is a hurtful and dangerous thing to do.

There are no easy solutions but, maybe over the longer term, one of the things that you can do to nudge things in the right direction is to not choose sides.