When We Disagree On Politics and I Lose a Friend
If I know someone with a serious illness or disability and I don’t support their access to the healthcare and services they need to survive and thrive, I haven’t earned that person’s friendship.
If I state publicly that someone is not the gender they say they are, I don’t know what basis there would be for our friendship.
If I believe in a God who punishes people for who they have sex with and I use my God to malign those people, I can’t expect them to want coffee with me.
If someone’s town is polluted and I don’t say “Let’s clean that up,” they owe me exactly what I gave them: nothing.
If I say that my language should be considered “official” and I stigmatize other languages, I cannot be surprised when the stranger next to me on the train won’t make conversation and sits in silence.
If I believe that my right to collect assault weapons is more important than a parent’s every-waking-minute wish that their child were still alive, I haven’t positioned myself to hear the parent’s story.
If I endorse a rapist for any leadership position, someone who has spent years in loneliness, fear, and anger while working hard to overcome personal trauma won’t ever confide in me.
