There are so many things that separate us today (race, politics and religion come to mind) and it seems like people are listening to each other less and reacting with anger and hatred faster than ever before.
I witnessed this a few days ago and it really affected me.
I belonged to a Facebook group that had been a place where people could post and be assured of loving support.
The group’s profile picture happened to be of a beautiful mermaid posing in the sea.
Well, today a woman asked out of the blue why the group photo didn’t represent her personal identity. She wanted it changed to a photo that was more inclusive of her background. Now, the picture really didn’t represent anyone’s personal identity. I doubt any of us has a fishtail instead of two legs. But, for whatever reason, this woman suddenly decided that the picture needed to be changed.
The woman complaining was offended when the owner of the page kindly told her the reasoning behind the photo and that she didn’t feel the need to change it. Then, a whole group of women appeared out of nowhere and felt it was their duty to defend the offended party (even though she was more than capable of defending herself).
Another group of defenders arrived to support the group leader (and her right to use any photo she wanted to use). And, then the opposite gangs began to attack each other. Their words became more and more hateful and I watched common sense and decency fly out the window.
Our sweet, supportive group became a powder keg of anger and hatred, and a mob mentality took over in an eerily short period of time. To watch it all unfold before me in about an hour’s time was really mind-boggling, and, very, very sad. Whereas in the past women of all walks of life, all races, all political parties and all religions were united by this group’s commonality, that all came crashing down.
The war that broke out in front of my eyes was of epic proportions and it really broke my heart. Of course there were those who tried to stop the tidal wave of anger and nastiness but it was like trying to stop an avalanche with your bare hands.
You’ve probably witnessed something like it in your own life, maybe in a friendship or sadly, in a church or small group. And, the evil comes from within us which makes it even sadder to witness.
I’ll tell you, it made me ache for heaven, for I believe that that’s where we will truly be united for the first time in our lives. There will be no more divisions of any kind and nothing to tear us apart. I, for one, can’t wait.
For now, Satan will use anything to destroy unity and love.
Even a picture of a cute little mermaid.
(In the future, we will be writing about protecting unity. If you have experience with this, please let us know).
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Read more of Ann’s contributions to AllMomDoes here.
