Unite — NOT Divide and Conquer

I am enjoying a “united” effort as I continue to work at the voting polls with people from both sides of the aisle. Of course, we can’t speak about politics in a room filled with voters who are of different persuasions than each other.

But is it about that or is it because we respect each other and anything that could cause division among us, is of minor importance compared to what unites us.

Occasionally, we must graciously ask someone to remove their campaign hat or turn their campaign shirt inside out if it represents one of the presidential candidates. And they do so without complaints.

We ooh and awe at the little ones that come in with their parents to vote. They get a sticker that says “Future Voter”. And, when a veteran comes in, we express sincere appreciation for their service. We clap and cheer for all first-time voters.

It’s required that we represent an equal number of party affiliations to serve as clerks. But our commonality is that we are all God’s children – in various colors, religions, backgrounds and cultures. Our political persuasions may differ, but we agree that relationships matter more than politics.

When there’s a slack in voters coming in, we talk about our families and our pastimes and our loves. We bring food treats to share with each other. We treat each other with respect, disagree agreeably (and often with humor).

I think that is an example how responsible adults who don’t agree on everything, should act. To be civil. To have conversations with people who don’t think like you. If everyone thought the same, it would be boring anyway. We are loving our neighbor.

We have choices in our lives — divide and conquer — create a mutual enemy and lead a crusade to conquer it. Or we choose to unite. We can share commonalities – our families, children, life goals, hopes and dreams. We have two choices. I choose to be united – rather than divided.

Remember the battle cry of the Three Musketeers? “All for one and one for all”! They were about uniting — NOT dividing and conquering. We can learn from their unity and loyalty.

As followers of Jesus Christ, not only do we strive to serve, protect, and love God, but we are also called to serve, protect, and love each other. Let’s live our faith. Let’s let people know we are Christians by our love. Let’s live our Christianity by how we love and teach others how to do the same!”