Challenge: Understanding Others’ Experiences

There's a lot of hate and negativity in this world right now and of course the obvious divide between liberals and conservatives, republicans and democrats, but when was the last time you tried to understand the opposing side's experience?

The straw that broke the camel's back was the officer in Minneapolis who held his knee on George Floyd's neck for nearly 9 minutes, killing him. It took some time to arrest him, he's now been charged with third degree murder, but people feel like that's not enough.

The Black Lives Matter movement has been going on for several years now and this event obviously escalated things, so the protesting began.

I'd like to point out an incident that happened in Salt Lake City... There was a guy with a Bow & Arrow who showed up to a protest. Certainly, people probably felt threatened seeing a guy with a weapon so someone came at him, he shot it at the person, and then was attacked and beaten. I think that most people are inherently good and that most people are doing what they feel is right in their heart... A lot of Black Americans feel they're being hunted by police and that peaceful protesting hasn't worked for them. The Bow & Arrow guy feels like he's defending his city and community; I imagine emotions are high at these events and when that happens, things escalate quickly. But in truth, from two very differing perspectives, both the protesters and the bow and arrow guy feel like they're protecting their community, and are doing what they feel is right.

I feel like that's a great example of what's happening overall in our country. Most people; Republican and Democrat want the best for their country, but we don't all see eye to eye on how to make that happen, which has created this great divide.

Maybe it's a leadership issue, maybe it's just such strong opposing views. I guess the one thing I'd hope for is for people to take a breath and try and understand someone else's experience before you dismiss them as a democrat or a republican and maybe try and understand why they feel the way they do.

There certainly are some bad people and maybe I'm a bit naive, but I truly believe that most people are not bad, and that most people are doing what they feel is right in their heart. Could it hurt to try and understand their experience before you dismiss them?

Whoever you are or wherever you come from, if you've made it this far in this article, thank you. I hope you have a wonderful day and can find some peace and happiness in this crazy world.