Bridging the divide between ‘us’ and ‘them’
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/02/2022 (470 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Bridges. What do they do? Connect people on the opposites sides of a divide by allowing them to cross that divide.
How we need bridges and bridge-builders in this time.
It’s not easy building bridges. Especially over tumultuous or icy waters. Bridge-builders must understand the environmental factors. They must persevere through obstacles, including their own fear. Sometimes, as with the Confederation Bridge connecting Prince Edward Island to the rest of Canada, it can be quite a process just to decide whether to build a bridge or keep things as they are (that story can be found here: www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/confederation-bridge).
Back to the present situation. The divide started gradually over the past year as people began making different choices about the vaccines that became available. Then, when vaccine mandates and passports came into being (it wasn’t that long ago), the divide became much deeper. And we can hardly recall the former days when this wasn’t so.
So, what do we tend to do when there is a divide? We stick to the people on our side and view the others from a distance. When we hear something we disagree with on social media, we either stay silent or argue back, while staying firmly on “our side”. We develop an “us and them” mentality.
I was recently convicted of this while listening to a sermon at church on love. The pastor declared there is no “us and them” with love — at least the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13, which in Greek is known as “agape”.
That statement stopped me in my tracks. Was it true? I didn’t want to believe it, for I would have to change. I would have to change how I comment on Facebook, how I look at people who think differently, how I interact with them. I started to ask myself:
What will my motivation be? What outcome will I desire? How will I treat people? How will I speak of people to others?
Will I believe the best about them? Will I keep no record of wrongs? Will I be patient and kind, not easily angered?
That day, the sermon changed my approach online. I had to stop and start over a couple of times. It’s hard to change! It will be a process, but an important one.
Will you join me and others in bridge-building? Start conversations with your first intent being to understand. Listen to people’s stories. And maybe, we can come back together, crossing the divide, and move forward in greater strength and unity.
Sonya Braun is a community correspondent for Springfield North.
Sonya Braun
Springfield North community correspondent
Sonya Braun is a community correspondent for Springfield North.