when did we stop seeing one another?

not republican.

not democrat.

not conservative.

not liberal.

people.

when did a difference of opinion

become permission to cast hate?

just because we don’t agree

doesn’t mean we can’t respect.

used to, we could argue about ideas

without attacking one another.

we don’t listen anymore.

we wait.

we wait for our turn to speak.

we wait to correct.

we wait for our turn to prove we are smarter.

for what?

what did we gain?

a broken relationship?

a ruined friendship?

a wedge driven through the family?

an image of ourselves that nobody wants to see.

"i disagree with you"

became "i don't have to respect you".

but disagreement doesn't require disrespect.

conviction doesn't require cruelty.

you can believe someone is wrong

without wishing them harm.

that person has a mother.

a father.

a child.

a story.

a wound.

a fear.

we say we love our country

but how can we

when we don't love the people in it?

red.

white.

blue.

stars.

stripes.

beautiful imagery.

none of them give us permission

to be ugly to one another.

our country isn't in turmoil

because we disagree.

that's democracy.

it's in turmoil because we've forgotten

how to disagree and still shake hands afterwards.

so how do we fix it?

do we show them that being right

is better than being kind?

winning

is better than understanding?

hatred is the price

of having an opinion?

or will we teach them

that strength can have restraint?

courage

can look like listening?

disagreement doesn't have to dehumanize.

maybe that's where we start.

we don't focus on the whole country.

we focus on how we speak

to the people right in front of us.

because hatred spreads.

but so does kindness.