It's Time to Stand Up, America

So far, 2020 has not been such a great year.  Agreed?

We began with such high hopes, as we almost always do.  Our last New Year's Eve celebration didn't look any different than the ones before.  There was talk of some virus emanating from Wuhan, China, but it really was just talk....

Fast forward to today.  Most of America was closed for a few months.  We are wearing masks and social distancing in public.  Thousands and thousands of Americans have stood up in a generation-defining moment akin to the civil rights era in the 60's to protest racial injustice and inequality.  The United States Military has been protecting the White House and beating back protestors.
The social tumult and financial devastation has been head-spinning.  Next to enter the ring:  the political uncertainty of a Presidential general election.

It's enough to make you want to be put in hyper sleep until 2021.

But now is the time to do the opposite.  Now is the time to engage like you've never engaged before.  Now is the time to stand up.

Standing up doesn't mean arguing, or fighting, or even being disagreeable.  Sometimes it may mean any of those three things, but mostly it's about listening and understanding.  It's about giving your fellow American a break, and trying to understand what it's like to walk in their shoes.  It's about treating others the way you want to be treated, and seeking justice for your fellow American when that doesn't happen.

If you take 20 random people off the street, and ask them their opinion about various hot-topic items of the day, you're likely to get many different opinions.  That's just the nature of being human.
But if you ask them if they love their children, they'll all say yes.  If you ask them if they want to be safe, they'll all say yes. If you ask them if they enjoy laughing and smiling, they'll all say yes.
We all have a lot more in common than we don't.  Astronauts who have traveled into space often remark how the Earth is one big blue-green ball that doesn't differentiate between countries, cultures, religions or ethnicities.  Those differences are only what we choose to make of them.  We are all human, with the same basic wants and needs.

In a deeply divided nation, it is time for all of us to stand up and defend the basic values that we hold dear:  the right to be free from oppression and the right to hold those to account that oppress us.
We will disagree on things.  We will not always make the right decisions.  We will not always hit our mark.

But the arc of history bends toward justice, and we must continually and passionately seek this in our actions every day.

So stand up.  Make your voice heard.  But most importantly, listen to what others are saying.  Find ways to bridge ideological gaps.

Find ways to humanize those you disagree with, and they will find ways to humanize you too.

We must work together to heal the divides in this Country.  Our Founders did not envision a country that looked a certain way, sounded a certain way, worshipped a certain way, or acted a certain way. They simply envisioned a land that was free and a people that were brave.

Stand up.  Be Brave.  So we can remain free.