THERE ARE CAUSES TO FIGHT FOR, BUT WHAT IS THE BEST AMMUNITION?

Each year life seems to go a little faster, and faster, and faster. It’s a workout just to try to keep up with all that is going on around us.

Amid all the busyness and rush that we call life, things are also changing. Some things are changing gradually and almost imperceptibly; other changes come fast, quickly becoming permanent before we really have realized what hit us.

Of course, some of the changes are great and make life better for many. But there are also some changes that either creep in or zoom in that cause us concern about the direction things are going.

We really should do something about that, shouldn’t we?

But our day tomorrow is jam packed and even right now we are late and have to get going. We’ll come back to it later.

I wonder if we aren’t at the point that we don’t really have many “laters” to put things off to.

Each of us has things that we believe strongly in, things that we really want to either continue being a part of our lives or things that we want to become part of our lives.

Do we want them enough to fight for them?

I think if we don’t begin to fight for them, we will open our eyes one day and they will be gone.

But isn’t realizing that we need to fight only part of the problem? We need to figure out “how” to fight.

We’ve witnessed people across the country who, in the name of goodness and religion, have done some pretty hurtful things as they “fight” for what they feel is right.

Protesting funerals.

Bombing abortion clinics.

Attacking and tearing down the opposite side through interviews and publications.

When we fight this way, does anyone really win anything?

Would the better question be: What did I lose of myself through these actions?

We’ve been moved deeply by the scenes in Les Miserables of the barricade. The nobility of standing and fighting together. The righteous goals of making things better. The certainty that the other side is completely wrong.

But I think battles have changed over the years. Instead of one side being right and the other side wrong, we find that there are mistakes made on both sides and often each side has valid points to their argument.

There is truth and right. There is deceit and wrong. Unfortunately, people tend to mix the two in their actions and aims. 

Maybe a place to start would be to define the fight:

Why am I willing to fight for this? 

Who am I fighting?

Why are they in opposition to my view?

What would be an acceptable solution?

One thing about the barricade, it blocked our view of the other side. We couldn’t see faces or people or individuals. It was just “them”, and “they” are wrong.

But the barricades of the battles in our lifetime are mostly self-made and quickly fortified with only part of the truth. In most cases we don’t have all the necessary information. We make assumptions on the gaps and fill it in with what makes us look stronger.

So maybe in our arsenal we need truth. That places the responsibility squarely on our shoulders of what our sources of truth are. What and who are we choosing to trust?

I’ve thought about fights and wars and battles through time. The vast majority end with one victor and one clear loser. The “bad” guys have been squashed and trampled on and run out. They deserve it for being the “bad” guys.

How did the “bad” guys feel about this? Did it change their behavior? Did they somehow see the light and quickly change their mindset to now match that of their conquerors?

Very, very rarely.

Usually fighting this way only firms up the beliefs of the conquered and the fire smolders within them until another opportunity arises to attack.

And the fight goes on.

The truth is that for someone to make a change in his/her viewpoint, they are given the chance to see things for themselves and make their own decision about it. When it is their choice and decision, then true change will follow.   

How does that happen?

It starts when I tear down the barricade and actually look my opponent in the face. I take the time to learn about their troubles and things that are important to them. Suddenly they are people like me, just with a different vision.

How do we treat them to help them stop and listen to our position?

I think you get the drift of where this is headed. Kind of an oxymoron that the best ammunition in a battle where you want the other side to see the truth as you see it, is kindness, respect, and even love.

The only ammunition that has lasting impact is truth delivered through love.

Truth delivered through love.

Sounds like a win-win to me.