History onward of 2016 can teach us a lot:

It’s not wrong to be right. It’s not wrong to be left. We find what is wrong is to hate our neighbor for where they have landed. Know what you believe, why you stand, and most importantly what got you there. If it’s fear, think twice. If it’s anger, think twice. If it’s hatred, start over.

Love each other, and consider all things with humility, not with the fragile pride that’s so easy to wear in our day. Pride is in fashion. Be humble and wear the oppression you feel, bear its weight and become stronger. The biggest oppressor is within our wayward hearts. Look inward and evaluate. Be honest, and let go of anything that shrouds uncomfortable truths about what controls our action.

Freedom is where we fight our self-interest, taking on what your brothers and sisters presently cannot, not by mandate, but by the genuine conviction of character. Show others that there is strength to be found when we fight our battles not by disparaging others, but in being salt and light, and a bulwark of courage in the whirlwind of chaos.

These times are absolutely insane. The dogmatic is palpable on all sides of the aisle. Wherever we stand, the firm stances and blanket statements draw lines and highlight a new enemy each day. What happens when I am the enemy?

Trump is in office. How do you feel? Do you feel outraged, do you feel triumph? Do you grit your teeth at that which opposes you? What will quench our collective wrath? Must we not examine the heart and seek understanding?

Is it so outrageous to think we are mere women and men, floundering amidst our lives, seeking to do good by our works, and hoping to do the best for the ones we love? Is there any agenda purer in hope than that? It is only our hearts that grow corrupt. The first things to acknowledge are the areas we’ve seen corrupted within.

Join me in examining and seeking understanding where we have been emboldened to attack. Plead we begin find answers, not more mud to sling over the open grave of the truth.