“People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.”
~Audrey Hepburn~

This election season has given rise to language that has been especially vitriol. And I am not taking about the conversation between the candidates, but between groups of neighbors, colleagues, church members, friends, family and acquaintances.

The presidential candidates during the most recent debate noted the heated climate, each candidate arguing whether their leadership in their respective parties has been enough to bring about civil dialogue amongst their supporters. 

Yesterday, while eating my bagel at The St. Louis Bread Company, I overheard the conversation between two men. I won’t say who they are supporting for U.S president — that is beside the point I am making here –  but they called those who were against their chosen candidate racist and hate mongers. Since the country is nearly divided on the issues and presidential candidates, I wondered if these men realized that they just wrote-off…

I have to say that for me, the most exciting thing about this blog is that it is interreligious and somewhat intercultural. I find discussions with people who think and believe very differently than I do to be the most interesting and enlightening discussions I have. I have so much to learn from them; they say things that I have never considered before and challenge me to explain or rethink my own beliefs. I have to find and answer to why we don’t believe that, or at least why I don’t.

When I have a religious discussion with someone whose faith is very different from my own, there isn’t an expectation or a pressure to come to an agreement. I can easily say, “Of course we disagree on this. I’m Catholic, and we see things differently.” This is very freeing. I am free to simply listen and try to understand their…