Nobody is right if everybody is wrong, but also nobody is
wrong if everybody is right. Obviously, part of that line comes from the song
For What it’s Worth written by
Stephen Stills back in his days with the band, Buffalo Springfield. On November
8th, in the United States it was Election Day. We voted for many of
our future political leaders, for various political issues, and also for who
will be the president for the next 4 years. The leading candidates who got the
majority of the votes were Hillary Clinton (D), and Donald Trump (R). The moments
leading up to the election were very intense and harsh. In the early morning
hours of November 9th, Hillary Clinton conceded to Donald Trump, and
he will now be the president. Of course, the supporters of Mrs. Clinton think
she was the right candidate, and the supporters of Mr. Trump believe he won
fair and square based on the electoral vote count. And, this is correct; Mr. Trump
had the most electoral votes thus making him the winner. However, if one looks
at the popular vote, it seems that Hillary is possibly a winner too, but either way
the popular vote is indeed very close. What this means to me is that the United
States is very polarized in our political views thus making us quite divided as a
people. Everyone is really aware of this problem, but we don’t seem to figure
out a way to solve it via dialogue. Moreover, no one seems to be willing to
compromise any of their personal views. But, I do have and know of a solution.
I believe the solution to our problems and for post-election
healing lies in what Jesus said two millenniums ago: “love God..., and love
your neighbor as yourself.” Of course, if every human being is not on board
with this idea, it isn't an effective solution. The alternative is however to
continue beating our heads against the wall. What I love about Christianity is
that not one gets a free ride; Jesus didn't make it easy for anyone, regardless
of whether you are on the right or left politically. Yes, this is my best
post-election idea for the healing of our country based on one of the biggest
principles in Christianity. In the Gospel of Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus was asked which
was the greatest commandment in the Law. Jesus’ response was “‘Love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a]
38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it:
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on
these two commandments (NIV Bible).” I am convinced that if everyone practices
these two commandments, we can easily solve all of our differences; however, it
is up to us. The ones that are unhappy with the results can go to an extreme,
and chose revolution, but based on my personal experience coming from a country
that experienced revolution; I think this is the worst choice.
My views on revolution based on personal experience are the
following. A revolution, past or future, if it commits violence against fellow
human beings and does not give them due process is not a revolution. It's
criminals committing crimes, and using civil disobedience to justify their out
of control urges. Of course, uneducated people or people with no morals are
often the authors in such a revolution. Ultimately, many innocent people die,
and the instigators also end up dead sooner or later. Radical ideas that
threaten institutions often become institutions that are threatened by radical
ideas.... And thus, the human condition is a vicious cycle that repeats.
To close, I wanted to say that we often hear people say “he
is a Christian” or “she is a Christian.” I think we should instead
realistically be saying “he claims to be a Christian,” or “she claims to be a
Christian.” In all honesty, if we are not following what Jesus said was the
greatest commandment, we probably aren't really Christians anyhow, and we are actually
just claiming that we are. My final thought is to put yourself in someone
else's shoes, and you might learn a thing or two. Whether you agree with their
political views or not! Now, if this is too difficult for you, you might not be
a redneck, but you might very well be a very arrogant person.We need to arrive at place in which nobody is right if everybody is wrong, but also nobody is wrong if everybody is right.Thanks for
reading! Blessings!
Reference:
NIV Bible
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