If you wish to convince a man of anything, you must first convince him you are his friend.
-Abraham Lincoln
I believe what unites us matters ore than what divides us.
Leaders too frequently have an interest in highlighting differences. Their power derives from creating a defined group of followers, and they work hard to define and maintain the artificial boundaries between us and them.
A great example is the bitter divide between India and Pakistan. The people of these nations lived side-by-side for hundreds of years with virtually no issues until “leaders” decided in 1947 that an independent India couldn’t include a Hindu majority and Muslim minority. This decision led to chaos, violence, and division of friends and neighbors.
(If you can’t see the video in your email or reader, click here.)
I think enemies cease to become people. They become objects, representatives of a hated ideology, which makes them easier to marginalize and dismiss.
We do it with liberal, conservative, atheist, … “They” are just different, right?
I think it’s what happens when perpetrators of human trafficking somehow come to see their victims as something less than human. Because people simply couldn’t do such things to others if they viewed tham as equals, right?
Perhaps that’s why Christians bring something unique to this issue. If we can help others see everyone as children created in God’s image, we can have an impact beyond anything possible through legislation or prisons.
But maybe we need to begin by treating our neightbors as we would like to be treated.
Justice is doing for others what we would want done for us.
– Gary Haugen, International Justice Mission
Please leave a comment here.
