UNIFICATION OR DESTRUCTION
.
.
The best way to demonstrate this is simply
eavesdrop on an ordinary conversation between friends. The following Facebook response stream to an Abraham
Lincoln quote serves this purpose.
.
“A” Replied
MAYBE others cultivate it by posts
against the president?
..
“D” Replied
I don't agree...as you know, I never
attack Trump voters, because I understand the sentiment for the alternative,
but Trump is now the leader and the President...it is HIS responsibility to
help unify the country, not mine. His
speech on Saturday night merely fanned the flames of disunity, and his
words--to the Country---matter waayyyyy more than mine on FB. Moreover, when he sends out a tweet on New
Year's Eve (do you remember that one?) where he mocked those who didn't
"vote for or support" him as being "among my many enemies,"
he reiterates his contempt for people like me...and...it's incumbent on him to
win me over, not vice versa, and he continues to do the opposite. When he changes
(which he shows no signs of doing), then I'll stop calling him out on FB. That's the way I see it.
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“A” Replied
With a subdued but disapproving
“emoji”
.
“D” Replied
Sorry “A”...I actually like him
substantially less today than when he got elected, I tried to give him a chance
but that New Year's Eve tweet set me off...and I assure you, I'm not alone
.
“C” (captjbeppler) Replied
It creates a "dammed if you do
and dammed if you don't" conundrum.
If you say something, anything, you increase the destructive division;
if you don't you allow the division in our nation to destroy itself.
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“D” Replied
I think attacking Trump voters would
be divisive, but calling out Trump on his divisive rhetoric, and holding him
accountable as the key person who has responsibility for cultivating unity is
another thing...and is good and right! And I have more Trump supporting FB
friends (4X as many) than Clinton, so I'm happy to discuss this in a respectful
and calm way...anytime, anywhere...and if/when they say they had to "put
up" with Obama for 8 years, I always remind them that those who voted for
Obama had to see and listen to all manner of criticisms and attacks for 8
years, so I am just doing to Trump what many did to Obama...seems pretty fair
to me.
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“C” Replied
Trunp
voters are as passionate about their guy as we were, and still are, about ours.
Now, they feel just as personally attacked as we did. Yet, I do agree it would, "seems fair to
me." The problem is attacking Trump
just sends his supporters into defensive-mode, widening the division. It will take cooler heads to find some
stratagem, other than WAR, to draw the nation together. If things don't come together, I predict that
just before his reelection time, Trump will pick a fight with a nationally-perceived
aggressor to improve his ratings. Spun
just right, nothing brings a nation together like a just war. Watch and see.
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“D” Replied
I don't doubt that, but Trump, and
certain of his core voters, simply cannot expect folks to just shut up and consent...I
have had folks say things like "get over it" and "we put up with
Obama for 8 years...” We all have to
deal with it in the manner we think best, and I'm not wired to sit still and
"shut up" and "get over it" unless/until Trump stops his awful
and inflammatory words and behavior. Did
you see his speech Saturday night? He
continues to fan the flames of anger and hostility, and I'm never going to
accept that...and standing up to it does not promote disunity nearly as much as
the rhetoric he perpetuates. We may find
out in the 2018 midterms what the country thinks about Trump...and if the Ds
take over the House and Senate, mark my words, he will be impeached. I'll take Pence over Trump any day.
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“C” Replied
One can only hope your tactic works. It is the popular approach right now. But without a unifying strategy, no matter
the party in power, these present divisive tactics will produce what Abraham
Lincoln feared, "If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we
destroyed ourselves."
.
“D” Replied
I'm afraid we
may never be unified again, but shutting up and letting despotic power take
hold isn't in me...remember the tea party movement? That wasn't unifying, but it was successful. I guess one approach is to be quiet and leave
the voices and rhetoric to people like Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones, but this
is still America, and we have a long history of dissent leading to action, and
that is my preference, but we all need to approach it the way we see best. I remember a "voice" on one of your
threads a while back, from an alleged former pastor, and that guy and his
vitriol and Trump love is part of the problem, and I'm not going to let people
like him fill the void that would be left by remaining quiet in an attempt
toward unity.
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The Replies
Ended…Wednesday, May 3, 2017
.
In conclusion, the national conversation
ignores a collective dream, leading to a united future, but instead prefers aggressive
“payback” and/or spiteful defense.
As long as this discord reigns, a unifying strategy remains inconceivable and we stay a divided nation. Seek not revenge but a common dream. Otherwise Jesus, Himself, pronounced God’s verdict on such nations as recorded in Mark 3:24 of the New International Version Bible,
As long as this discord reigns, a unifying strategy remains inconceivable and we stay a divided nation. Seek not revenge but a common dream. Otherwise Jesus, Himself, pronounced God’s verdict on such nations as recorded in Mark 3:24 of the New International Version Bible,
“If a house is divided against itself, that
house cannot stand.”
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