To quote Josh Wilson in his song Revolutionary, “Why does kindness seem revolutionary? When did we let hate get so ordinary?” If you are a follower of Christ, what happened to the new covenant command to love your neighbor as yourself? If you follow any other religion, there is a similar core belief. What happened to respect for self and others?

Dear Neighbor, 

First, let me say that the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis was horrific. It was a senseless attack on innocent people, particularly children. There is no excuse for this action. However, there is also no reason for the senseless, mindless backlash towards a fragile part of America. The fact that Robin Westman was transgender does not in any way implicate others in the LGBTQ community. To say that all those who identify as transgender are violent and a threat to society would be equivalent to saying that all men are a threat to society because they are rapists or that all women are prostitutes. All those statements are patently ridiculous, but in the same vein as those being said against transgender people.

This is but a symptom of the disease of hatred that has so strongly inflicted our government and citizens. To quote Josh Wilson in his song Revolutionary, “Why does kindness seem revolutionary? When did we let hate get so ordinary?” If you are a follower of Christ, what happened to the new covenant command to love your neighbor as yourself? If you follow any other religion, there is a similar core belief. What happened to respect for self and others? Are we as a people so reluctant to and afraid of taking time to try to understand others who don’t look, talk, dress, act, and believe as we do that we must hurl hatred and violence – verbal and physical – at each other? If so, why? Are we that weak as a people and as a nation? What happened to the tenets upon which our country was founded?

If you believe, as I do, that we are all children of God, that we all fall short of what we could be, and that working together to build us all up is better than tearing each other down, then now is the time to take action. Reach out to those you love. Reach out to those you don’t, who you would normally either avoid or at best tolerate. Offer a helping hand or a kind word. Let people know they are valuable. Stand up for human rights for all people, not just those who look like you.

But for goodness sake stop the intimidation and violence. Let your elected officials know that you are done with the bickering and fearmongering, and that you expect them to live up to the oath they took to represent ALL of their constituents, not just the ones who voted for them and donated to their campaign. Tell them to work to unite our country, not divide and conquer.

Let’s take our country back to the principles of integrity, respect, and cooperation and make our country a world leader in every sense of the word again.