Did I Ever Tell You I'm a Model?

No, no. Not a clothing model, not a super model, not even a hand model. I'm a role model. And - this might be incredibly shocking, so brace yourself - so are you.

I'll admit, I'm having a hard time with this truth lately. I wake up and look around at all of this... this...

*gestures broadly at my country*

and I get cranky. More than cranky, I get irate. This isn't what we're supposed to be. While I have very precise political views, I'm not going to spend my time pontificating about those here because the truth is, it's not about politics. It's about humanity. It's about being good to one another regardless of those political beliefs, or religious beliefs, or anything else that might feel divisive.

Social media has taught us to ignore the other person's point of view while we make ours more emphatic, BIGGER IN FONT, sarcastic in tone, and belittling in demeanor. All of those things are easy to do, especially when we're right and they're wrong. (Because, aren't we always right? Regardless of what side we're on, we think we're correct and the other side is full of morons.)

As the country continues to devolve into chaotic hatred, the small shreds of our humanity that still exist are eroding before our eyes and it's up to us to stop the damage and rebuild. Of course, one person can't do it. But one person can model HOW to do it and then another one can follow that model and show someone else.

How does any movement start?

How would a movement of love, kindness, acceptance, and inclusion start?

I have news for all of us - it's already started. Find your model of it and then become a model of it.

My model is Jesus. No, not 'Christians' ... JESUS. The guy who absolutely embodied these four values in ways that are unparalleled throughout history. You don't have to be a Christian to embrace and teach these values, because he wasn't the only one who ever showed them to others. He's the person I look to as my role model. His disciples made stupid mistakes constantly and didn't understand half of what he tried to teach them, yet he loved them. Women were nothing more than chattel at the time but Jesus included them as equals. Prostitutes and tax collectors were considered the scum of the earth, but Jesus accepted them as fellow humans. People shunned lepers, screaming 'unclean', dehumanizing them, but he showed them constant kindness, touching them both literally and figuratively.

Does that mean Jesus never got angry? Of course he did. He was human. He called out hypocrisy and disrespect every single time. Matthew 23 is filled with negative things he said to the so-called 'religious elite' about the crappy way they treated others and the lack of love and care in their hearts. He flipped tables and got rid of cheaters in the temple who were making a mockery of the things he held most dear. Yet, he was filled with compassion for the hurting, the broken, the poor, the marginalized, the ones who everyone else had given up on. He modeled how to love, how to be kind, how to accept and include others. He didn't always agree with them or the things they did, but he never belittled them or shunned them from his circle.

Pulling from all of that, from MY role model, I need to realize that I am also someone else's role model. Who? Well, my child, for one. Maybe others, but I'm never certain who and I'm never certain where, so I need to be careful to stick to my values wherever I go. That includes social media which is, by far, the hardest place because I feel pulled in so many directions when I'm there. Yes, I want to stand up for justice and prove that my viewpoint is right! I'm so pushed to the limit when it comes to all this divisiveness that it makes me want to... be more divisive! Therefore, I have to come back to one of my favorite quotes, which is, "Be the change that you wish to see in the world." Gandhi knew how a movement starts, he knew what to stand up for, and he knew how to lead others. I'm still learning, but he is another of my role models and another reason I have to keep trying, every day, no matter how hard it may seem.

Love people.

Be kind to people. Accept people.

Include people.

Shutting them out only deepens their echo chamber and you may be the only light their darkness may ever see.

Don't give up.

-Stephanie