Death unites us

RIP John McCain

I’m going to start this off by saying this is not a political post. Because of my job I keep my political opinions to myself. However, after the death of longtime senator and Vietnam War Veteran John McCain, I noticed a trend on social media. For a few hours, it seemed the war of words between Republicans and Democrats had been silenced.

I witnessed people who bashed Mr. McCain during his life in politics post thoughtful, kind words after his death. Similar support was shown after the death of former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Beau in 2015. Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives coming together to mourn. But once that period is over the posts return of each side accusing the other of wrongdoing and hating America or immigrants or Muslims. You get the picture.

We have more in common than what divides us. However, we let those differences split us. Social media doesn’t help either. But I’m not going to blame it. I’m blaming us. All of us. We are better than this. It’s a monster of hate and distrust and contempt that WE created.

It’s not going to get any better as long as each side points to the other and says they started it. Seriously, I watch on my timeline stories and memes and videos being posted from alternative points of view. I know where I stand. I know where most of my friends stand thanks to these postings. I also know I’m not going to change your mind and vice versa.

Yes, there are some issues that need attention and need to be fixed that we won’t agree on. That’s perfectly fine. It’s the hateful way of expressing those differences that I’m sick of seeing. Let’s be real, there are enough people around the world that hate this country and the people who live in it, why do we have to hate each other too?

So in the spirit of Sen. McCain, take a moment to reach across the aisle and actually communicate with someone you don’t see eye to eye with. Instead of resharing a negative or hateful message keep scrolling along. We need to be better at agreeing to disagree instead of all the hate. Let’s not wait for someone to die to unite as a country. Share those sentiments while people are still alive. Thanks for reading.