It has always been a pet peeve of mine, when trying to have
a meaningful conversation about political issues, while trying to reason with
someone who won’t (or maybe can’t) produce facts to back up their arguments.
While I am a moderate to conservative Republican, who is also a Christian, I am
still open minded and believe there is always more than one way to do things.
Furthermore, as part of my career in customer service, it is my job to find win
win solutions to difficult problems. After nearly 30 years in the workforce
that skill has spilled over into my personal life. I find it very frustrating
speaking with someone who is always on the offensive, who withholds facts and
information, and manipulates all while trying to win me over to their side
rather than trying to listen and understand my views in order to have a
meaningful and productive conversation.
The only way two people, or political groups will ever be
able to come together on anything is to listen, truly and intently, to each
other side’s concerns, wishes, and needs and work together until an equitable
solution has been agreed upon. Unfortunately, the political environment in the
United States has deteriorated and become so corrupt on both sides that nobody
is listening to each other anymore because they are to busy trying to find
chinks in the other side’s armor, to the point that both sides are willing to
resort to lies and even fabricating issues for the sole purpose of making the
other side look bad.
This has spilled over into every day society. People tend to
quickly make assumptions about another person solely based on that person’s
religious or political affiliation, which in turn blinds them to finding out
what that personal actually believes. This causes all sorts of walls to be built
up preventing any type of productive conversations and often resorts to name
calling and the like.
When I read that President Trump just signed the Executive
Order Establishment White House Faith Opportunity Initiative, in several online
articles, which all talked about the LGBTQ+ community’s fears about legalized
discrimination, I was concerned. However, I wanted to know just exactly what
this executive order said, and what it could potentially mean for anyone who
identifies as LGBTQ+. I have added a link to the Executive Order in question at
the top of this post, and I strongly urge you to read it.
I have actually read this order and I found nothing but good
things that can come from it, all of which will help this country a great deal.
Furthermore, I don’t believe we have anything to worry about regarding
additional discrimination because the order expressly states the following:
Section 1. Policy. Faith-based and
community organizations have tremendous ability to serve individuals, families,
and communities through means that are different from those of government and
with capacity that often exceeds that of government. These organizations
lift people up, keep families strong, and solve problems at the local
level. The executive branch wants faith-based and community
organizations, to the fullest opportunity permitted by law, to compete on a
level playing field for grants, contracts, programs, and other Federal funding
opportunities. The efforts of faith-based and community organizations are
essential to revitalizing communities, and the Federal Government welcomes
opportunities to partner with such organizations through innovative,
measurable, and outcome-driven initiatives.
Please note: in order for religious organizations to compete
for government grants, contracts, programs, and other Federal funding
opportunities they must first be compliant with current government regulations
which already ensure the equal rights of anyone in our country.
Yes, we all need be wary of any new policy or law. Yes, we
also need to remain diligent to ensure any new policy remains fair and in the
public’s best interest. The only way we can do this is to educate ourselves
with real facts, treat everyone with respect, and don’t automatically assume
because someone is affiliated with one party, or religious group they are
automatically a closed minded opponent who is unwilling to work towards a win
win situation that will benefit us all.
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