It is so easy to pick on immigrants from a majority white congressional district. It is so easy to blame “the other” when you’ve never sat down with someone “in opposition” to you and had an actual conversation. These are the challenges… and too often we are not up to these challenges. (And social media makes it SO much easier to stay in opposition without getting to know someone else of a different status or opinion.) What we don’t know, or WHO we don’t know, we fear. Then, we create hyped up scenarios to then generate hyped up solutions.
“We need to make daily intentional choices to live in opposition to our fear. Ask a homeless person to tell you their story. Talk to a coworker from a different background. Dare to see someone who has had a tough time. Do one thing you’re normally afraid to do.” — Terence Lester, I See You
When we will reach out, ask question, and then simply listen, we have the opportunity to disarm our fears. We need to see people. We need to listen to their situations. When we get to know people, our fears subside and we have opportunity to look at true problems and then work toward real solutions.
I completely agree! The famous maxim is “we always fear what we don’t understand” and this is interchangeable with the very psychological definition of anxiety – the fear of the unknown, fear of the future, fear of potentiality; possibility. If we took that leap towards understanding one another, towards connection and communication, we’ll break those barriers and bring everyone to an egalitarian situation. Then the anxiety will dissapate; then we shall know peace.