Where is the Love?

I was watching MSNBC, which I suppose is a bad idea because I almost always wind up being depressed.  Tonight two stories appalled me. The first was about attempts to limit who can vote by requiring more stringent voter IDs. Called "voter suppression laws," opponents are charging such laws target voter of color, young and elderly people and the poor.  Some reports verify that voter registration and actual voting among those groups has dropped.  


The second story reported on four ministers who have been preaching against legalizing gay marriage. One suggested to fathers that as soon as a father "saw that limp wrist" the father should beat it. Another, even more horrifying, suggested building a huge electric fenced in area and "rounding up" lesbians and gay men who would be held there.  He suggested that food be dropped in but "since they can't have children" the people in the  enclosure would eventually die out. 


Unfortunately, these stories are not that unique. I think in the past I've talked about the calls to "take back our country." (I always suspect that, since I don't agree with the viewpoint of these people, they are talking about me. I work and pay my taxes, the times I've missed voting in any election can be counted on one hand, and I don't steal or otherwise take what is not mine. What have I done to cause them to consider me an enemy?) More recently, some politicians have come out in the open and called the president a traitor. 


Although from the national political scene, these examples they are not unique to it. At work a class participant became very angry because she was expecting sandwiches for her lunch and instead was served hot food. An instructor told me she was shocked at the nastiness of some of the comments she received on her feedback form.  I could go, but it's too depressing. 


I don't know what is happening to us as people but it seems that not only are we blithely destroying the earth, but we're also now turning on each other. And for what? Is it making our lives any easier or happier?  Do we get more money or more swag by being mean? At the end of the day, do we feel any better about the past ten or twelve hours when we've spent them slashing and burning everyone and everything in sight? No we don't. We know for a fact we don't. Our health suffers, our relationships suffer and we wind up less and less satisfied with our lives, feeling we're missing something but not sure what.  


So I have a challenge for all of us. For the next month, do the following things every day: 1. Find something to be grateful for and just spend a moment being grateful for it. Pick something different every day.  2. Stop yourself at least once during the day when you're going to be negative, mean, catty, dismissive or otherwise not nice. Don't say it, don't do it. Ignore the jerk who cut you off. Bite your tongue when you want to yell at your kid. Stop the sarcastic comment to your colleague before you say it. Smile at your spouse or partner when you want to roll your eyes.  And then let's see what happens.  Check your life at the end of the month and see if you're not at least a tad bit happier, less stressed, more rested and more productive. We may not be able to save the world but perhaps we can save ourselves. That's a start.