Do you remember the World Wrestling Federation when Hulk Hogan was a star?  I have to admit that I wasn’t a huge fan of this, but I know some people who were.  In another life, I was with someone who loved it. I took my nephews to see a live event and it is crazy how the audience would get into it.  I mean, they all knew it was fake, right? It was actors acting to a different degree. These guys who called each other names, ridiculed each other, and “fought” on stage, were usually friends outside of the arena.   You may ask yourself who believed all of that malarky. How could you watch grown men in makeup wrestle each other, jump in the air, land on each other, and get into the heated debates when you knew it was fake? I have to admit that I found myself a few times almost cheering Mr. Hogan on. It had a way of permeating your brain and captivating you into going with the crowd and believing, if only for a moment, that it was real. Even if your intelligent brain knew it was fake, you had a hard time not jeering someone like Mr. Macho or Andre the Giant when they were being so vicious.  I was definitely not a viewer of this entertainment, but I do understand how people would start to get sucked into the rhetoric that was driven into their brains in commercials and then on the telecast every week.  If you are shown something enough, told something enough, and the message is given with enough conviction, the audience starts to believe it as reality.

It’s kind of like that in politics.  Really. I won’t go so far as to say that presidential candidates or other political leaders are coffee buddies outside of the debate stage, but I do believe there is a lot more collaboration that goes on than many people believe, even between arch enemies.  Collaboration, however, doesn’t sell.  Conflict does.  At some point in history, society was sold a bill of goods that they need to steer clear of people that don’t think like them.  Not only steer clear, but dislike or even actively argue with them and name call if they don’t vote the same way. Antagonism becomes pervasive.  You can’t scroll through social media without seeing hatred.  Friends become former friends, family members become estranged, and strangers argue over news articles and headlines. Who wins? Nobody but the media and the devil.

Remember the days when people didn’t actively talk politics? I remember my parents watching Johnny Carson when I was young. I watched it as a young adult as well, and I never knew if he was a democrat or republican. Nobody knew and nobody cared; what the audience cared about was the laughter and silly antics he brought into their living room every night.  Sure, he could be a little dicey, but he was never divisive.  People would talk about The Tonight Show at work because it was a common ground.  We have so many more commonalities to celebrate if we just look for them.

 As a manager, I have always told my teams that you find what you are looking for.  In a meeting once, I had everyone take out a piece of paper and pen. I told them I was going to set a timer for 30 seconds and I wanted them to look around the room and find every object that was green.  After 30 seconds I asked them to put their heads down and look only at the paper and list every object that was red. I received a lot of “hey, that’s not fair” or “that’s a dirty trick”. My defense was that I only asked them to look for the green things, I never told them I would ask them to write the green items down.  I then likened it to life in the workplace in that you will find what you are looking for. If you are looking for conflict, you will find it. If you expect that secretary to be late more than she is on time, you will see it. If you think people are lazy, that is what you will see. On the other hand, if you look for the good in others and seek out your commonalities, you will find them. Will people always be perfect? Absolutely not. Will you be let down from time to time? No doubt.

Jesus told us “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).  This is why I propose that the only winners in the game of divisiveness in politics are the media and Satan. Times used to be different; maybe not perfect, but more congenial.  When we bite each other’s backs and spew hatred, we become lonely, disgruntled, bitter, anxious, and victims of the lies and schemes of the evil one.  Don’t do it, don’t take the bait, don’t be miserable, and don’t believe everything you see and hear. Use common sense, look for the good, and try to find common ground. We will never be at a point, on this earth, where we all think the same. Who believes that by arguing with each other, a staunch believer on one side of the coin is going to change the mind of a staunch believer on the other side?  It won’t happen. Not ever.  If, by chance, one of the two does change their mind, it won’t be because of an argument. 

God gave us a choice whether to accept Him or not. He gave us free will. We aren’t in charge of what others choose but we do have the choice to be hateful and resentful or to be kind and to love. Use your free will wisely and choose to live in peace with others. I could argue all day long with someone who doesn’t believe what I believe, or I can demonstrate friendship, peace, and love.  I choose love.