This Moment In Time

This moment in time is One of the darkest we as a nation have experienced since 9/11, not just an assassination of a man, it was the assassination of trust, of spirit, friendships and of love. We all saw it and the majority of us were appalled and reviled by such an act no matter what side of the aisle you may be or what you thought of him, and yet just a few hours afterward my social media was inundated with hateful posts and comments about how Dems are filthy animals and should be rounded up and either jailed or executed. How my family should be ashamed of how I vote or what I stand for, some very good friends of mine, people I've known my entire life also threatened even though they are among the most peaceful people you could ever meet. People with beautiful souls that have never had a ruthless thought in their minds nor a word of hate from their mouths. Yes it was a vile and disgusting act, but to hold others accountable for the actions of one or a few is itself also vile and disgusting and shows were your heads and hearts actually lie.

I'm not a perfect person and I have done some shitty things in the past as well. But anyone that knows me, knows that I have also given of myself even when there was nothing to give. I have given monetarily as well as physically. I have lent an ear when thats all someone really needed at the time. I was raised as a christian and was made to attend church for the first 16 years of my life with my Mother dragging me there and my Grandmother as my Sunday School teacher from kindergarten on and I wasn't exactly free to think for myself without some questions also coming back at me for the sinful action of "talking back." And though I found the faith and the people hypocritical I did find that the scriptures were indeed part of a greater good, morally in some examples. And of course the people were good people even though they, like most people that refer to themselves as Christians now, didn't really read or understand the good book like they should. But few really do.

I'm in no way shape or form anyone who should speak as though I know better, for any man that considers himself wise also knows that he knows nothing at all. But what I learned from that book is very clear. Treat others as you would want to be treated. Even though your neighbor may not be family or known to you, treat him as your brother (love thy neighbor) and most of all do not hold hate in your heart as it will consume you, as it leads to actions such as this, (thou shalt not kill). None of us are perfect, but none of us should be held responsible for the actions of others. This is not the time to call for vengeance but for understanding and peace, yes those who committed this crime should and will be held accountable as those that have also assassinated others in the past have been. But this is also the kind of atmosphere that breeds talk of collecting entire groups of people up and imprisoning them or worse disappearing them as is also happening now.

So I guess my question is, what will my friends do when I or someone I love is taken because of my beliefs or my political stance that is different from theirs? Will you stand beside and call out an injustice or will you stand by and say, "He knew better." I would hope that it will not come to that. But I guess we will have to wait and see...