Working For Unity
Working for unity has more to do with attitude than content. Of course, there will always be points of disagrement, even major ones. A husband and wife may face not just theoretical discussions about the legality of abortion, but an actual unwanted pregnancy and not agree about what to do. Presuming the couple does not want to divorce, they have to work toward
unity. Ultimately a decision will be made, whether they agree or not. Ideally they will both accept the consequences of that decision regardless of whether they were in favor of it originally. This is what I mean by attitude--recognizing differences but not letting them interfere with your efforts to find common ground.
Can you work for unity with people not interested in being united with you? I would say that's almost always the case because usually the greatest impediment to unity is the desire to achieve it. If two parties want unity, it will likely come easily.
Any two people will seem like opposites in isolation because there is no one else to compare to. By temporarily setting aside areas of disagreement and focussing on larger, arguably more important areas of agreement, you rebuild bonds long since forgotten.
I have often taken a cynical attitude toward the national unity people talk about after 9/11. I think there was definitely an element of militant nationalism afterward, but first there was a spirit of shared pain and a desire to help each other. That was a great moment in our history still fresh enough to return to given enough effort.
So enough theory, how do I take action? I would say the first step is to get outside your immediate community,your safe circle. I live in a city with a lot of like-minded people surrounded by rural areas who largely disagree with the city dwellers. It seems to me that volunteering for something you believe but outside of your safe circle creates great opportunities. I also plan to look in to starting a meetup for discussions across party lines.
The discussions may or may not be political, but they would be to see people with different points of view in a positive light.
posted by Adrian @ 5:06 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Hi Adrian--It's Jennifer here. This is my first blog response ever and I feel so cool. But seriously, I appreciate the way you and countless others are holding steady and looking at ways to move forward. It is oh so tempting to dwell on feeling defeated so muchas gracias for the optimism. I have a very cautious sense of optimism when thinking of how to step forward from this point. Basically, my hope is that democrats do not find too much common ground with republicans on the moral issues that supposedly won the election. My fear is that in doing so, democrats will become more of the Zell Miller breed. On those types of issues I hope that the parties can just agree to disagree, and even that there will someday be a greater degree of separation. I want gay marriage to be acceptable. I want dems to be able to call bigotry for what it is. But I think what you are talking about Adrian is something else--the larger issues. I really hope that it doesn't take another great tragedy for the nation to come together again as it did in the fall of 2001.
I too think it is important to get outside of our comfort zones. In my life right now that it being advisor for the high school's Habitat for Humanity group. I normally wouldn't be working so closely as a part of a Christian organization--but I do share the same basic goals. Maybe the small attempts to branch out will add up if more folks do it:). Thanks for e-mailing your posting. I'll check back soon.
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