Observing eyes

I'm scared. Scared of what's to come. Scared of where to turn. Scared of what to think. This week has turned friends against each other, crumbled relationships, and left family unable to come together at the dinner table. Hopefully, I've managed to avoid all by doing one thing that has never been easy for me: I've been quiet.

This week I've watched as friends turn to the Internet to publicize their beliefs, both from the left and right, and then I've read along as their conversations turn from a friendly banter into something much more, something from which they may never recover. That scares me too.

We are at a time unforeseen by many and unwelcome by so many others. My initial reaction to the events culminating this week were spoken early, however gruesome and unthinkable, and it is still my main fear. It is the extremists that scare me, for their actions, while to them seemingly fit, would only turn things even more topsy turvy. I pray that the day never comes. I pray that we stand behind the majority and lead by example, although the examples that I've seen from the minority has not exhibited any behaviors that I wish to be a part of. So I remain quiet.

There are two sides to every story and like most in argument, one side remains deaf to the other. Tonight I sat down with someone very dear to my heart and we spoke about our differences, rationally, with open ears. This is someone that I deeply like, and could possibly love, yet we remain divided. Tonight's conversations gave us a better understanding of one other--our upbringing, our family values, and our hopes for the future. We are better because of tonight. Ultimately, we are better because of the actions of this week.

I do not sit in judgement of what I have seen this week. I only hope that my fears are unconfirmed, and that the Revolution that has shaped every aspect of this country continues to live. Revolution before has never been quick and it's never been pretty, or sometimes even popular, but it's been necessary. I will quietly look forward to tomorrow and I will quietly remember yesterday. Being quiet has never been easy for me...maybe this is my own personal revolution as well.