I cannot imagine reading the news, looking at the jubilant faces, and not being moved. I am still crying daily with joy.
I have made it clear on here that I don't like the current presidential administration. I've been realizing, in the last few days, that one of the things that bothered me most was that I didn't feel heard. I didn't feel like anything I said or did - or even anything that an entire coalition of people said or did - would make any difference. That absolute certainty that I saw in the outgoing president, that he is right, that everyone else is wrong, terrifies me. I feel the same way about James Dobson. I am scared of anyone who claims that he or she has the one single answer or, worse, the truth of what God wants.
Because here's the thing: what if you invoked the name of God to justify your policies, but you were wrong? Who could tell you that you were wrong? To whom would you listen? And how would you ever know? Because I have very different opinions about the heart of God than this on-the-way-out president or, in fact, many of my family members.
I am willing to accept that I may be wrong. I don't think I'm wrong, of course. I hold these opinions for a reason; I have thought them through and they make sense to me. But I am willing to accept that I may be wrong. I am willing to listen when someone tells me that they reached a different conclusion and gives me the reasons why.
What I am not willing to do is be dismissed for having my opinions. I am not willing to accept having my opinions silenced. I am not willing to stop thinking because a pastor says this or a leader says that.
And what I hope more than anything for the next four years, what I hope for all of us and for our new President, is that the unity to which he calls us will mean that we can hear one another without anger, without defensiveness, without dismissal. What I see, on the faces of US Americans and on the faces of people around the world as they greet this new Presidency, is hope that this time, this time, even our contributions, even our ideas will be welcomed. We may still have different conclusions, we will not all be satisfied with the outcome of every discussion. But if we can open ourselves to different reasons and ideas, we might actually be one nation again.
We have been dividing ourselves long enough.
I have made it clear on here that I don't like the current presidential administration. I've been realizing, in the last few days, that one of the things that bothered me most was that I didn't feel heard. I didn't feel like anything I said or did - or even anything that an entire coalition of people said or did - would make any difference. That absolute certainty that I saw in the outgoing president, that he is right, that everyone else is wrong, terrifies me. I feel the same way about James Dobson. I am scared of anyone who claims that he or she has the one single answer or, worse, the truth of what God wants.
Because here's the thing: what if you invoked the name of God to justify your policies, but you were wrong? Who could tell you that you were wrong? To whom would you listen? And how would you ever know? Because I have very different opinions about the heart of God than this on-the-way-out president or, in fact, many of my family members.
I am willing to accept that I may be wrong. I don't think I'm wrong, of course. I hold these opinions for a reason; I have thought them through and they make sense to me. But I am willing to accept that I may be wrong. I am willing to listen when someone tells me that they reached a different conclusion and gives me the reasons why.
What I am not willing to do is be dismissed for having my opinions. I am not willing to accept having my opinions silenced. I am not willing to stop thinking because a pastor says this or a leader says that.
And what I hope more than anything for the next four years, what I hope for all of us and for our new President, is that the unity to which he calls us will mean that we can hear one another without anger, without defensiveness, without dismissal. What I see, on the faces of US Americans and on the faces of people around the world as they greet this new Presidency, is hope that this time, this time, even our contributions, even our ideas will be welcomed. We may still have different conclusions, we will not all be satisfied with the outcome of every discussion. But if we can open ourselves to different reasons and ideas, we might actually be one nation again.
We have been dividing ourselves long enough.
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