Donald Trump is the Republican nominee. Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee. Some Bernie Sanders supporters are still angry enough to split off in to their own idea of holding on to him as their candidate. Almost everyone thinks that the folks supporting opposing candidates and arguments are crazy, racist, idiots, liars, the establishment, defenders of a lying politician, blind, stupid and the list goes on and on.
I see this as time when we are participating in some of the most important conflicts of our time. When people ask me, “As The Conflict Closer, what do you make of all this?” I tell them it is our time to break culture and start to move closer to each other, but I am concerned that we are missing it. I am watching us dismiss and toss names at “the other” even if we know them. Just last week, I saw a Facebook post asking for a support group for people who have family members that are Trump supporters.
Months ago, this particular blog was dedicated to the idea that each of us probably knows someone who supports Donald Trump and, in fact, some of you reading this support him. Just as many of you reading this are Hillary supporters and Bernie Sanders hold outs, you are all welcome here, because this is what I mean by… we are in the most exciting times. No matter what your views are I believe that underneath it all, we are saying the same thing.
How it is being said, what people hear when it is being said, what are people’s stories and reasons, beliefs, fears, prejudices (we all have them) and circumstances are all opportunities for us to learn from one another if we are brave enough to reach out. That is what breaking culture is about for me. Breaking the culture of dismissing, labeling, ridiculing, ignoring, seeing no value in the different, the opposing argument, “the enemy.”
I am no patriot, but now more than ever is the time to come to the aid of our country.
To find out more about breaking culture, check me out at www.psychologytoday.com/blog/breaking-culture.
