There is a positive way to navigate this election year.
What if we thought about collaboration rather than combativeness? Certainly there is a lot of common ground for which we could be grateful, and build on in our conversations. How about remembering virtues and the importance of them? How about uniting in our efforts to reduce vices and their effects? Reducing debt would be good. If we can identify the problems that divide citizens, then maybe we could work together on solutions to those problems.
Candidates are indicative of the extremes of our culture. Maybe we want to work on correcting forces in our culture that move people to such extremes. It also helps to remember that the majority of U.S. citizens are not represented by the extremes. In my experience, the majority of Americans are good neighbors who want to restore and preserve the condition of our country.
Media knows that negative, inflammatory reporting is four or more times more captivating than positive, factual news, so we need to be the voice of peace, goodness, and encouragement. If we try, we can practice sympathy rather than cynicism; compassion rather than combativeness.
James 1 tells us to be slow to speak, slow to anger, quick to listen. First Timothy 2 urges us to pray for those in authority. Romans 13 reminds us that there is no authority except from God and the whole Bible records the history of how God does make all things work together for good.
God bless us all as ambassadors for Christ and citizens of a very blessed nation.