Above the Bellowing Crowd

There is a cacophony of voices.

“Turn left!”

“Go right!”

“This is the way!”

“No, this way!”

What are we really listening for? What does your heart tell you? 

I have my opinions, and I’ll share some of them. Politically, honestly, I think we’re all fucked! 

Who is the loudest, who can make the biggest point, who can steer you the furthest away from the other side? I don’t know. Doesn’t seem like love and kindness to me. 

It seems like chaos. 

I want you to have your opinions. I definitely have mine, even if they do seem radical and pretty crazy lol 

But when did we start letting the crowd, the horde, the mob run us into insanity? I think I remember a crowd of worked up individuals, marching a man up a hill to die on a cross…

Because it seems like insanity. Politically, I’ve taken this week to listen to both sides. It seemed like a pretty important week to do that. But I didn’t immerse myself simply on one side. I took time to listen to both side’s sources. Something I don’t often do. And I realized that both of them seemed to be beating a message into my mind that didn’t make sense.

I stopped listening.

Because it just became noise. 

I’m not saying rhat there aren’t valid points to the arguments.  I’m simply stating that you will NEVER sway me with yelling Rhetoric. Abusing both sides. Making it a fight about personalities and not principles.

The best discussions I’ve had in the past about this have been just that, discussions.  No yelling, no name calling.  Simply talking.  Maybe not totally understanding, but to listen.  For both of us to be heard.

One of my dearest friends and I had a pretty heated discussion about this a few years ago. And then at some point during the conversation I realized that the relationship with this human was much more important than red or blue. Because he’s my brother - at least he’s been a brother to me. 

I will listen.  Promise, I’ll try.

If anyone wants to have a conversation about this with me, I will do everything I can to calmly listen and try to understand. And I hope that you will do the same for me. Listen to what I believe. 

I’m not trying to change you. But I would like to hear you. 

Above the bellowing crowd.

~ Peace

The Burtle