I think I insulted my 88 year old mother today. I called her today (it’s my birthday) and told her that I like being out in the world. I told her that I like it better out here than being in the womb, which was too dark and there was no furniture, no museums, no running paths. And my prefrontal cortex was paltry back then.
On a serious note, here is what I want for my birthday: I’d like everyone reading this to go find someone they disagree with and have a heart-to-heart conversation on a difficult topic. For those who voted for Biden, for example, you could visit with a neighbor or relative who voted for Trump. Ideally, this should be a conversation that involves a lot of listening so that you come away from it with a better ability to see the world through that other person’s eyes. If this sounds scary, I’d doubly recommend it. If you do this right, you will come away from it with a gift of your own.
This is not just a good idea. I believe that it’s the only way forward. “Love your enemy” is a good idea for all of us, not only Christians. You’ll find more resources from two of my favorite organizations: Heterodox Academy and Braver Angels. Good luck. Be brave!
Happy birthday. Please don’t let this ruin it.
Your post brought to mind our first dinner onboard of cruise ship departing Copenhagen to tour the Baltic sea. It was June 2001, we were at a table for seven, including two grandparents, their granddaughter, me and my wife, and a power couple from Dallas. She was an organizer for a teacher’s union, he was a personal injury attorney. They informed us that George Bush lost Texas in the 2000 election. I replied that this was probably incorrect.
“No, we know it for a fact. Neither one of us knows a single person who voted for Bush.” State-sanctioned segregation in housing is illegal, as it should be. Thus, the only reasonable explanation for the increasing segregation in housing is self-segregation. Which is happening socially as well. I expect many Biden voters will have difficulty finding an acknowledged Trump voters.As I indicated in a post on DI last year, not only did race relations sour from 2013 onwards, the number of people without an opinion shrank to near-zero.