To The People I’ve Lost Over This Election

John Pavlovitz, in an open letter. A short, well-written account of why some truths are worth losing relationships over.

To The People I’ve Lost Over This Election:

I know you may believe this disconnection is about politics, but I want you to know that this simply isn’t true. It’s nothing that small or inconsequential, or this space between us wouldn’t be necessary. This is about fundamental differences in the ways in which we view the world and believe other people should be treated. It’s not political stuff, it’s human being stuff—which is why finding compromise and seeing a way forward is so difficult. 

What’s learned of each other is, occasionally, fully incompatible with what’s non-negotiable about ourselves. As John writes:

I can’t fully regret the present distance between us either, because in many ways—it is simply what has to be. There are truths that we have learned about each other this year that are too elemental to dismiss or overcome right now; things at the very core of each of us that feel incompatible, and as much as I regret that I’d regret my silence even more.

As my own experiences indicate, there are political differences that are fertile sources of discussion and recurring thought, yet rarely get heated, and there are exchanges that go off the rails immediately. The latter conversations aren’t about politics. They’re about people injured by politics and culture, sometimes over decades or even centuries. They’re about realities that, once seen and understood, can no longer be disregarded. It’s the willful continuance of and excuse-making over these differences that make us incompatible.

#elections #have #consequences #Trump