Fear, Love, and Politics
Let’s talk politics! You may be thinking, “Why is she writing about politics in a Wellness blog? This is an unwelcome surprise.” I will try to explain why, so hang on ’til the end!
Back in 2016, when President Trump won the presidency, many people seemed to be in shock. Through all of the noise, the comments of one surprised newscaster really stood out to me. He said something like, “It seems clear that people are not really listening to each other. I’m going to really sit down and start listening to people.” The newscaster’s comments really resonated with me. This is what led me to start interviewing people about their political beliefs. By conducting interviews, I hoped to accomplish three goals: 1. Educate myself on other people’s political views and the reasons for their views. 2. Provide a non-judgmental listening ear to people that wanted to be heard. 3. Promote a sense of loving curiosity and unity. In the end, I didn’t interview a ton of people, but I feel like I learned a lot from both Democrats and Republicans. The below is what I took away from the interviews.
A lot of negative assumptions are made on both sides. Also, some people had the same moral convictions that I had, but when it came to the political realm, they just didn’t apply their beliefs in the same way that I did.
Sometimes fear disguises itself as anger. I realized that I am guilty of getting angry at people with different political views because I am scared for the future. After the interviews, I decided to make more of a conscious effort to focus more on caring about people rather than my fears.
There are many kind, compassionate people on both sides. I found that many people on both sides really care about people and this country.
If you listen to people first, people might want to listen to you afterwards. It was rewarding to be able to freely express my views with loved ones after I gave them a chance to share their own opinions.
Two people on opposing political sides can still love each other and enjoy being around each other. I interviewed a family member who disagreed with me on almost every single political issue, but after we both had a chance to share our opinions, I felt like I loved and respected her even more! Since the interview, we have made more of an effort to see each other more often.
Let’s revisit the question from the beginning of the post again. Why did I bring politics into a Wellness blog? Whether one can clearly articulate one’s views or not, everyone has some sort of political view. I want to encourage you to listen and love the person on the opposing side without fear. This will improve your relationships and your overall wellness! Do you agree?
This post was originally published on October 30, 2018 and updated on August 12, 2019.
You’re a star. I love your blog so much. These are such important issues that you bring to light. I myself sometimes have trouble hearing out an opposing person’s point of view, especially when I feel it’s a human right violation, but I suppose anger never solves anything. Especially not changing one’s views.
Agree wholeheartedly!! Well said
Very interesting post and I agree that fear often disguises itself as anger. Anger is somehow an “acceptable” emotion and fear is not. Also I think that grief is no longer as acceptable as it was in days gone by. Now we are supposed to just “get on with it”. I think that sometimes anger fills in for grief as well.
I think that back in the day it was more accepted. We used to be able to wear black arm bands to show we had lost someone. Now we have a celebration of a persons life when they are gone. That’s a nice idea but it somehow negates the heart tearing grief of loosing someone close to us. We are supposed to just get over it.
I applaud your efforts to reach out and interview people on both sides of the political landscape. There is much for each of us to do in terms of “really” listening.
Beautiful post. Synchronicity, today I changed my profile quote on my favorite site: “Love is the absence of judgment.” -Dalai Lama ♥