A few days ago, I posted on Facebook about Donald Trump, terrible person, et cetera ad infinitum. In response, someone commented essentially telling me to shut up and go back to talking about clothing. And then she unfollowed me, thereby pretty effectively achieving her goal of not having to hear me anymore.
It bothered me. Not because she’s not entitled to her opinion, but because it’s this unwillingness to even listen for a moment to those who disagree with you, that – to me – lies at the root of the crossroads at which we find ourselves. We’re talking and talking and talking without ever taking a moment to listen. We’re lobbing arguments at each other, barely even reading or hearing the response before shouting back. We’re unfollowing each other.
I am very much aware that not everybody who reads here is liberal, or anti-Trump. I try to be sensitive to that, while still expressing my beliefs. I thank those of you who disagree with my politics and continue reading here nonetheless. I want you to know that I’d like to hear from you more.
I had a conversation the other night with a friend who supports Trump’s administration (if not the man himself, whom he finds reprehensible), and it was a conversation I’d been aching to have for weeks. This friend of mine is a wonderful person. He is moral, and thoughtful, and smart, and generous. He’s a great father. His explanations for why he wants to get behind the President-elect were ones I disagreed with, but still: they made sense. He wants stronger immigration control; he sees the benefits in deregulation of certain industries. In return, I expressed to him my belief that to sign on for any one of the points on the incoming administration’s agenda is to implicitly sign on for it all. We sat up talking long after everyone else had fallen asleep, and I don’t know that we reached a point of agreement, exactly…but he heard me, and I heard him.
Those conversations where we can reach across party lines: in politics – and in life – they’re such opportunities. They’re chances to hear first-hand what the other person wants; what he or she is most afraid of. In the absence of communication and understanding, we all lose, but when we take the time to listen we open up the possibility of recognizing something of ourselves in each other. And it is that – that fundamental humanity at all of our cores, that shared desire to create a better life for ourselves and for our children – that is going to give us the chance to start a new chapter.
If you’d like to attend a march in the coming week, here is a full state-by-state list of events taking place in the coming week, as we approach the inauguration.
