America, we are broken.  Own it.

So, what are we to do?  Scream at each other in the streets?  Gun each other down in our places of worship and education?  Bomb each other?  Run cars over each other?  Should we barricade ourselves in basements and dark rooms, armed with multiple guns and a computer to spew more fear and divisive hatred at each other from the safe, impersonal distance of the internet?  Curl up in a ball and wait for the inevitable new civil war to come and go and hope to survive?  Is that what we really want?

No?

Then stop acting like it.

Step out onto the street.  Shake the hands of your neighbors.  Look people in the eyes.  Keep your phones in your pockets and interact with people in real life because social media doesn’t represent reality.  Help strangers.  Welcome them into your life.  Forget your biases and truly listen to each other.  Hear each other’s stories.  Remember everything you have ever stood for, fought for, sacrificed for, taken a knee for, worked for, and loved.  Then accept that others have done so too for reasons different than your own.  Accept it and tolerate it.

We are more than our politicians.  We are more than political parties.  We are more than our religions, our races, our genders.  We are humans, and only our humanity can fix us.  So own it.

America, it’s time.

STOP THE HATE.

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Image courtesy of Pixabay.