My husbands thoughts....

My husband is much more eloquent than I am. He's also much more of a deep thinker. He makes my head spin sometimes I read his stuff, but I thought I'd share it for everyone to read. It's really good.

I realized today, through this season of political campaigning, that I suffer from Conflicted Political Identity Syndrome (CPIS) just like I suffer from Conflicted Religious Identity Syndrome (CRIS). The later of the two I got from Brian McLaren's book, Why did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed cross the road?. What I've realized is why it is exactly the I suffer from these syndromes. It is 

because I am trying to distance myself from these political and religious hostilities that both of these belief systems, albeit in their current state, tend to bring out in people. If you understand hostility as meaning opposition, as in the sense that the other is the enemy you realize that hostility makes one unwilling to be the host. The "other" must be turned away, kept at a distance as an unwanted outsider, unwanted in hospitality as a guest or a friend. Brian McLaren states that hostility is an attitude of exclusion, not embrace; of repugnance not respect; of suspicion not extending the benefit of the doubt; of conflict not conviviality (friendliness) and I agree wholeheartedly! Some may think that my lack of identifying myself with a party or its belief systems is irresponsible and uncommitted and from where I stand I am confident that this is not a bad thing. I am interested in a dialogue with people who can rise above their world views not in search of more information that can support the belief systems they already have but to search for truth at a higher level. A truth that will raise our humanity for the greater purpose. Does anyone really believe that they have all the information that everyone ever needs??? You know this is absurd. Than why don't we tolerate each other more, talk to each other from a place of understanding rather than to be understood. I am convinced that this is a forgotten art, an invaluable skill set that we need to embrace with all our might. Think about it, how do we communicate at that higher level? If you can answer that question you become part of the solution! Food for thought.