Isn't it obvious? Everyone is posting the same thing. It's all over social media, now more than ever. I'm talking about division.However, this blog is going to be in no way my opinion on the election and who the president is, who I voted or didn't vote for, etc. That, to me is not important and there isn't anything anyone can do anyway. And I am sure the people have read enough rants and raves about all of that and then some. So, as the saying goes, "No use crying over spilled milk."
In 9th grade, I made an enemy. Not because I mistreated her. Not because I stole her friends or made her look bad or spread rumors about her. Not because I called her names or looked at her funny. I made an enemy simply for being ME. Sounds crazy, right? Every day I asked myself, "What did I do to make this girl hate me SO much?" Nothing. But still, she made it her personal assignment every single day to make sure I had a bad day by bullying me. She even walked with a small crowd who would back up her words against me and laugh at all her jokes about me. How did I react to that? I simply ignored it. And I was kind to her anyway.
Eventually her jokes got worn out, corny and tired and because I didn't respond the way she wanted me to, it made her even more mad, until finally, she gave up. I sustained months of her bullying. And since it was junior high, it wasn't cool to go to the teacher about it. You just had to deal with it. Or fight. But my way of fighting was to be the bigger person and ignore it.
After she realized her words couldn't break me, and she stopped, she eventually apologized and we became acquaintances. I wouldn't say we were friends. But at least the bullying stopped. But the story took a weird turn and she began to receive the same treatment from someone else. And that is when I actually defended her! Why would I do that? Because I felt pity for her. She just wanted attention and acceptance like everyone else. I said that to say this: Just like it was her personal agenda every day to make me have a bad day in front of a bunch of people, I truly believe there are people out there with a personal agenda to make people turn on one another.
Why did I share that story with you? Because it relates exactly to what is happening in America today. The sad thing is, it has always been happening all over the globe. And will continue. People are making enemies by being themselves. By being a certain race. Certain color. Being themselves, which they can't change.
But don't be fooled by the power of social media. People know what content to post to start a riot. Just because you see a certain video with a certain caption does not mean that is what is going on in the video. Social media is so full of lies that it is hard to spot truth anymore. The drama seems more appealing and it is easier to get mad at something false than what is real and probably deserves your anger. It is deception. It is division. And it needs to stop. The sad thing is, it never will. So, check your sources the next time you see a "racist" video being posted in association with Trump being president or whatever the case is. We get carried away by mere words.
"A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand." That is not just a wise saying quoted by Abraham Lincoln, it is actually a scripture in the Bible which he quoted by Jesus Christ in both the books of Matthew and Mark. We take pride in our pledge of allegiance. We proudly say, "...one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all."
Indivisible: unable to be divided or separated. Well, that's not the case for America, so why do we say that? While some people may actually live this pledge out, a great percentage of Americans do not. We want to believe we are not divided, but we are. And social media amplifies that to the fullest. A lot of people lost Facebook friends recently over the clash in politics alone. That just shows the strength of the "friendship," but that's another topic.
We are "indivisible" until someone says something we don't like or agree with. We are "indivisible" until we don't get what we want or we're having a bad day so we take it out on an innocent bystander. We're "indivisible" until we find out that our closest friends didn't vote for the same individual we did or share the same point of view. We're "indivisible" until we get just a little more money and fame than our neighbor. And the list goes on. It's little and big things that are dividing our country.
But, dear reader, the key here is that we are dividing ourselves. We are responsible for the downfall of our own nation. It can't be the president or the authorities because the people outnumber all of them by far! So, it starts with you. It starts with me. Are we really going to believe everything we see on social media and get mad at the wrong people instead of those responsible? The ones whose personal assignment it is to make us turn on one another over little things that become amplified. Will you trust your eyes? Or will you look past the jargon and posts designed to stir up anger and hate?
Making America "great again" isn't going to be accomplished by what's done externally. That is temporary. We have to let God make America great by changing the hearts of the people, turning them toward one another rather than away from one another. And only He can do that.