don't do it

“Here’s what I believe: 1. If you are offended or hurt when you hear Hillary Clinton or Maxine Waters called bitch, whore, or the c-word, you should be equally offended and hurt when you hear those same words used to describe Ivanka Trump, Kellyanne Conway, or Theresa May. 2. If you felt belittled when Hillary Clinton called Trump supporters “a basket of deplorables” then you should have felt equally concerned when Eric Trump said “Democrats aren’t even human.” 3. When the president of the United States calls women dogs or talks about grabbing pussy, we should get chills down our spine and resistance flowing through our veins. When people call the president of the United States a pig, we should reject that language regardless of our politics and demand discourse that doesn’t make people subhuman. 4. When we hear people referred to as animals or aliens, we should immediately wonder, “Is this an attempt to reduce someone’s humanity so we can get away with hurting them or denying them basic human rights?” 5. If you’re offended by a meme of Trump Photoshopped to look like Hitler, then you shouldn’t have Obama Photoshopped to look like the Joker on your Facebook feed. There is a line. It’s etched from dignity. And raging, fearful people from the right and left are crossing it at unprecedented rates every single day. We must never tolerate dehumanization—the primary instrument of violence that has been used in every genocide recorded throughout history.”

        Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone

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I suspect we are all guilty at one time or another

I know I have been guilty

And probably will be again (although I am trying not to)

The sin

Is treating the person in front of us

As less than what they are

It is easy to get righteous

And say the other person is less

That is not the same as saying you think they are wrong

People can be wrong

People are wrong

People do stupid things

Say stupid things

They act in ways that hurt others

They lie

They grasp

The abuse

But….. each person

Each person

Immigrant

President

Republican

Democrat

Right

Left

In between

Honest

Dishonest

Humble or arrogant

Greedy or generous

Abusive or compassionate

Is a Sacred Child

In each person the Sacred Dwells

Each person bears the image of the creator

Yes, that image is often blurred

Sometimes radically

But it is still there

And each person has worth

So as we argue on Facebook

Argue across the dining room table

As we march in the streets

Or pass legislation in the halls of Congress

Let us remember

That everyone

Those with the power

And the “least of these”

Are loved by God

Loved deeply

Sometimes painfully

And our job is not to strip them of their humanity

Which is also their divinity

But to try and help them

Through our humility, compassion, patience and love

Find the spark of the divine

And let it shine

I do not do this well

Perhaps very few of us do

But we must remember that whoever it is we are seeing

Judging

Hating

Accusing, attacking

Is a precious soul

With worth above measure

All we can do if find our own place

In God’s love

And from that place

Seek to pass it on

We will struggle

We will fail

But we can

With the help of the One who dwells within

Try.