Are You Up for a Challenge?

Who’s up for a challenge?

You won’t have to pour cold water over your head, you don’t have to donate any money, you won’t be asked to record a video of yourself, and you won’t be asked to do anything that is harmful to your health…

Take a look around… I don’t think I have ever seen a time in our country where people have been more divided.

I think back to that awful day in 2001, when our country was attacked. September 11th. Never had I seen people come together like they did. We became one. Everyone was out to help each other in any way that they could. Despite the awful events that happened — it gave me hope for our country back then.

If a tragedy like that happened today, I’m not sure we would have ANY unity. My fear is that instead you’d have groups that just pointed fingers at each other to try to place blame.

The dividing of America is a slippery slope we are heading down, and to be honest, it scares the crap out of me.

I have never seen so many people in such disagreement with others — from friends, to co-workers, and even family members. I have personally experienced people blocking me or bidding me “good riddance” just because we couldn’t agree on an issue.

Now don’t get me wrong. Don’t interpret this into “I want everyone to agree on everything”. That is not my point or desire. I think the world would be a very boring place if we all thought the same way.

One thing I have learned in my lifetime is to be open minded. Don’t be afraid to change your opinion or views on an issue, after you’ve learned more about it. There is nothing wrong with doing that.

So here is the challenge I’m issuing…

• Be more open minded
• Don’t be afraid to look into issues and gather facts
• Engage in intelligent conversation with others
• Don’t be afraid to try new things (if you don’t like it — you never have to do it again)
• Don’t call people names or attack them just because you disagree with them
• Come up with your own opinion. Too many times people base their opinions from what they have heard from others. Remember, just because it is online doesn’t mean it’s true. Anyone can put together a website or post on social media. Get the facts.

Now, more than any other time in our recent past, we need to be more unified as people and as a human race. We don’t have to agree on every issue, but rather let’s “agree to disagree” in a civil way.

I’ll admit that I’ve had my mind changed about things after a discussion and finding out new facts that I may not have been aware of. There is nothing wrong with that.

Eldridge Cleaver is credited for saying, “If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem.” With that in mind, I want to be part of the solution. Let’s get social media and just socializing in general back to being a friendly action. Let’s remove the hatred that rears its ugly head so often.

So will you accept my challenge? I’m calling this the “Scott Winters Challenge” (#ScottWintersChallenge). I tried to come up with a catchy name, but it seemed everything I had come up had already been used.

So let’s try to mend those broken ties, be more civil, have great discussions about the issues, and work to reunite as human beings.

I hope you will join me in trying your best to be open minded and civil when people disagree with you. Let’s hold each other accountable if we need to remind someone how to act towards one another.

Who’s in for the #ScottWintersChallenge? Can I count you in? I’ll do my part if you do yours!

Photo: Image by truthseeker08 from Pixabay