There is never more vitriol on the Internet than in a political season, and this one is no different.
It’s not news that we are in an unprecedented presidential race. I mean, one frontrunner is a former first lady whose then president-husband had an in-office extramarital affair, and the other is a boisterous business mogul with a wicked combover and a serious case of RBF. The most precise poll-masters and stats-followers couldn’t have predicted a presidential race like this.
And while election seasons are, by nature, incredibly divisive, I’d say we’d be hard-pressed to find a more controversial election season to date. There are, it seems, only two options for candidate response this year: love or hate.
It’s a general rule-of-thumb that the two most divisive topics of conversation are religion and politics—that to avoid conflict or stressful interactions you must never bring up politics or religion. And for some, those two are one in the same.
Just as a friendly reminder, Jesus wasn’t American. God is not a republican. Or a democrat. Or even an independent. Patriotism, while noble, is not a biblical mandate. Civil responsibility, respect and prayer for offices, yes, but not patriotism.
But, contrary to popular belief, it is actually possible to carry on a decent, civilized, real conversation with someone whose political beliefs are different than yours. (Tweet that!) Shocking, I know, but it is actually possible.
And actually, that is a biblical mandate.
Unless your version of the Bible says, “be ye kind one to another, unless it’s an election year,” or “if it’s possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all those who share your political views.”
It doesn’t even say that in The Message. I looked it up.
‘Murica
This is going to sound cliché, but sometimes they’re true and useful for…[continue reading]
This article was first published at LouderKyd.com, a collective of artists and professionals out of NYC. Jump over there to see more awesome stuff (and more articles by me)! And no, I don’t live in NYC, but I have some pretty great friends who do.
Emily Gehman | Storytelling Coach 
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