Glenda Norwood Petz, Author

My heart is heavy, weighted down by sadness and grief over what we, the human race, have allowed ourselves to become.  And I can’t help but wonder if the damage is irreparable, or if it is capable of mending, how long will it take to completely recover?  Months?  Years?  Generations?

The latest mass shooting in New Zealand has really ripped at my heart because of the degree of pure hatred in which the attack was driven.  I simply cannot understand hating a person or a race simply because of the color of their skin or the religion they choose to practice, and to the extreme that it took to take 50 innocent lives without regards to gender, age or color.  An act so violent isn’t simply motivated by hatred, but also by an intense form of pure, unadulterated evil.

We now live in a society where tensions amongst us seem to be at the highest level that I’ve personally ever seen them.  Express your opinion and you’ll probably get cussed out or called names.  Offer facts in a debate and get told that facts don’t matter over beliefs.  Make a stand against gun violence and be told “you ain’t takin’ my guns!”  Disagree with someone’s stance on abortion and be called a baby killer.  It never ends.  Someone, somewhere is always unhappy or disgruntled about something – or offended by it.  When did we, as adults, lose our level of maturity and return to adolescent, snot-nosed brats?  Children often get into tiffs and name-calling on the playground or at school and that’s okay because we expect it from children.  But when it’s adults doing it, I find it quite disgusting, reprehensible and extremely childish.

Whatever happened to the good old days when two people could have a civilized conversation and/or debate and talk out their differences without sinking into the mire of debasing one’s character or slinging filthy names at them?  Why can’t we, as a society, return to a more civilized way of addressing each other, whether it’s face to face or on social media?

How can we ever expect our nation and our people to heal when, on any given day, I can read news threads, comments and group forums that do nothing but promote hate and division?  Why do people engage in this type of activity and behavior?  I don’t get it.

It’s one thing to stand up for what you believe in, because I always have and I always will, but it’s a whole different ballgame when others expect me to respect their beliefs and opinions while kicking sand in my face and belittling me because I have a different point of view.  It’s okay to disagree and have differences, as long as it’s done diplomatically and with tact.  No one likes being talked down to, or made fun of, or called stupid.

God is crying!  He is weeping for us, His children, because of our words, our behavior, our constant bickering and dislike for others who are different from us, regardless of whether it’s their skin color, their sexual preferences, their religion, their disabilities, the color of their hair, the amount of makeup they wear, how much money they make, how expensive their homes and cars are.  The list goes on and on.  Can’t we all just get along and accept each other for who we are, lift each other up and help each other to move forward in a positive light instead of throwing each other down into the dark sewers of destruction?

I’ll do my part.  Will you?

Until next time…..

Take care and God Bless!

Glenda