This post may offend some people, and if it does, well that’s just the world we live in. Some people can find something to be offended by with everything. That’s just what they do. So many people feel like they are entitled to be offended. So if this offends some people, well, that’s just the way it goes I guess. But this is something that has bothered me for a long time and it seems to be more and more prevalent every day.
When did we lose the ability to agree to disagree? You just don’t see it very often anymore. It is sad, heartbreaking, frustrating, and honestly incomprehensible how so many people can’t do this anymore. Agreeing to disagree is like the free throw in basketball or bunting in baseball. It is a lost art because it is not practiced very much by very many people anymore. Obviously when I say these things, everyone does not fall into this category. But, as time goes on, sadly I have discovered that more and more fall into this category all the time.
I’m going to refer to Covid briefly because that is unfortunately at the height of everyone’s thoughts again (But this applies to so many other things in life too, not just covid. So this is not a Covid debate post). Since Covid crept into our country, we have had differing of opinions about everything dealing with it. Whether or not to wear masks, whether or not to shut everything down, whether or not to get the vaccine, and so on and so on. Everyone has their opinions, and they are exactly that. Opinions. People feel strongly about what they believe. Here is the reality of it. You can find information on the great world wide web to support whatever your opinion is. You can find info from “experts” that say masks are useless or they will harm your health if used too much. Then you can find info that says masks are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Whatever side of the fence you are on, you will find supporting details on it.
If you believe it is better for us to shut down businesses and our economy to let this pass, you will find information that supports that. If you feel like staying open and gaining herd immunity though exposure is the best way to handle it, guess what, you can find information from people supposedly in the know that will tell you that you are right.
If you have the opinion that the vaccine is necessary to end this pandemic and that everyone should get it, you will find information that supports that belief. If you are skeptical of the vaccine and look for incidents to prove that people have had severe, life altering things happen as a result of the vaccine, that information is readily available to you as well.
Here is the bottom line. No one has ever dealt with Covid before. It is so new that any and all information gathered from the “experts” or the common folk alike, is speculation at best. You can say, “well my information is backed by science. There have been experiments and trials that say this is true.” The other side of that is that for every article that supports your opinion, you can find one with the exact opposite outcome that is supported by someone’s experiment or study itself. For anything you could tell me you believe about Covid, or anything dealing with politics or a number of other topics, I can find information that is the exact opposite of that and the people that present it make it seem believable (and I might agree with you, but I could still find some info for the other side). That is what they do. I have been guilty of believing some things like this as fact some too. We feel like what we are reading or listening to can’t be wrong. Then if we step back and look around at other information, we realize that people on the opposite side present their information and it is just as believable. They all have a job to do and will do whatever they can to sell it to us as facts.
Here’s what it boils down to. We all have to decide what we believe and do what we feel is best for ourselves and our families when it comes to everything in life. I have said since the beginning of Covid that I don’t think differently or look down on anyone for their opinions about anything on Covid, because the reality is none of us know what is absolutely true and what is not. None of us have ever dealt with it before. There’s not enough science available yet to prove anything as fact (or if there is, science has proven both sides of any argument to be true). You just have to have confidence that what you believe and choose to do is right for your family and your situation.
The same can be said about politics, religion, or any other controversial topic. Yes, I am going there. I’m not going to get into a political or spiritual debate. I believe what I believe. You are free to believe what you believe. That is the beauty of this country and the principles it was built on. We are all free to believe what we choose. If you want to know more about my beliefs and why, just ask me and I would be happy to share that. But, I am not going to look down on you or think less of you because you don’t agree with me.
At some point, we fell into this trap of thinking that if someone didn’t share the same beliefs as us, they were stupid, dumb, or that we had the right to criticize them or look down on them. If someone doesn’t see things the way we do, they are beneath us and just plain wrong and it is our job to tell them how lousy of a person they are.
The burning question I have is when did we get away from agreeing to disagree. It is a great concept if you think about it. People can think as they wish. They can believe as they believe. And the crazy thing is we can all still be friends too. The sad part of the other side of the fence is that I have literally seen friendships end due to differing opinions over Covid, politics, religion, lifestyle, or whatever else the case may be. Why? Why has it came to this? Where did this school of thought come from? I’m not sure, but we need to get back to the way God wants us to be, because the way things are currently going is not the way God commands us to be.
Simply put, there is only 1 person that has all the answers, and I promise He doesn’t treat people any different or look at anyone any different or love anyone any less because of our opinions or the things we do. Thank goodness that is true! We could really learn a lot from that person. That person being God. He wants all of us to love Him and love each other. After all, that is the greatest commandment He gives us (Mark 12:28-31). It’s funny how so many things that we can talk about come back to that concept. The reason is because those two things, loving God and loving people, encompass so many things. If we can master those two things, so many other things fall into place.
So I encourage everyone to get back to the basics of agreeing to disagree. That doesn’t mean that you accept their beliefs or way of doing things. That doesn’t mean that those things have to become your own. It just means that you are doing what God commands us to do. Love God. Love people. Love them for what they are. You don’t have to agree with them or what they do, but love the person anyway and treat them with respect. We have gotten away from loving each other because just like free throws and bunting, agreeing to disagree and loving people is a lost art!!!