Talk to Real Human Beings

The popular media are intensifying a sense of "otherness" in our midst: that our fellow citizen is not really one of us. Flourishes of rhetoric, dramatic music, computerized hyper-visuals all can accentuate this illusion and make it feel like reality. But get out on the street, and where do these "alienized" fellow Americans exist? Do you see them at your local grocery store? Do you see them in the places where you do business? It has never been the nature of the human race for everyone to be exactly the same. Only badly written or primitive, naive forms of literature might give this impression. Each of us has a distinct personality -- this has been so since our distant ancestors were mostly covered with hair and used stone tools. Every moment of grief, frustration, fear, anger, doubt, confusion, dismay, incredulity, joy, surprise, hope, fellowship, courage, helpfulness, compassion, forgiveness, love, humor, cooperation and understanding we have shared alike in this life. This world is a place of chaos that humankind can never fully tame. We need to remember that the chaos does not come from some alien other, but from the very nature of the world in which we live. To blame something that is actually a cosmic force on a group of fellow human beings is not the answer. We must give our loyalty to the goodness of heart that dwells within each of us, and from there we can minimize the effects of this chaos upon the communities we create and maintain in good fellowship. But if we attack one another, the chaos will invade our lives at every step. We must understand that all sane people seek food, shelter, health and safety for themselves and those whom they love. How they look and dress is purely incidental. Look at history! Every time there are difficult economic times there have been power-hungry and opportunistic charlatans posing as "statesmen" who incite people to attack a vulnerable group. But doing harm to another group of people will not bring healing to you and those you consider your kind. Driving out people you think are somehow not as fully human as yourself will not put food on the table or a roof over your head. Imprisoning others or taking away their jobs will not enable you to afford better healthcare. A politically polarized population lends itself to the control of those who lust for power and have no one's welfare at heart other than their own. Do not let loud-mouthed pundits on the television or radio dictate how you perceive your fellow man or woman. Go out and meet real people. People who do not attend your place of worship, people who do not work where you work, people who do not eat where you eat. They are real, they are full of hopes, they are full of anxieties, they are like you. They are not the "other", the "alien". If you actually listen you will hear yourself, the good-willed self, speaking back to you. Take the hardness out of your heart. Remember the story of Pharaoh. There is no virtue or strength in callousness and hate. Love is what has made every noble leader and teacher admired throughout the ages.