Every person a human being like us
My husband has never met a stranger. You know what I mean. He can strike up a conversation with almost anyone. One of the reasons I married him I guess, me being a little more reserved.
Even at football games where a game has been intense and our team wins, or even if it loses, he often strikes up a conversation with parents or fans of the rival team. We’ve met some interesting people that way including the father of Tim Hightower who now plays for the Washington Redskins (when not injured). It always makes that team a little more “real” or human when we see Hightower on TV.
What we’re always struck by is how speaking with fans of the opposing team also humanizes them: they want their team to win just as badly, they flew thousands of miles (in the case of a national championship game) to see their kid or band member (in our case) play.
The same principle holds true in relating to people of other faiths, cultures or races. When we get to know people of other religions or cultures, it humanizes them: they want their children to grow up happy and healthy, they work hard to put food on the table, they celebrate their children’s triumphs and feel their failures just as keenly.
This is where the clashes between ideologies break down: we may never agree with or come to accept the other person’s beliefs or opinions, but one-on-one, we can see that the other person is a human being like us who loves his or her parents and children and country. This truth comes out in a documentary our office produced which is airing through Dec. 18 on ABC TV stations (at the discretion of local stations) called Waging Peace: Muslim and Christian Alternatives (see http://www.wagingpeacealternatives.com/ for more information). While exploring the peacemaking threads and traditions that exist in both faiths, the people in the documentary illustrate how getting to know people of other faiths, learning more about their religion, tradition and history, and actually working with them--goes a long way to make or keep peace in communities and countries.
It is that way in our work or educational lives as well. I’ve thought about that several times as our company merged with another one this year. It isn’t easy emotionally to merge the “cultures” and staffs of two organizations, on top of the physical and mental effort of working through all the changes required when two businesses merge. Especially when, as is often the case these days, some employees work from a distance at their homes or offices in other locations.
Two things helped our staff immensely. One was working together at a convention where a number of staff had the opportunity to work long days together and also eat many meals together. Second was a staff retreat where we worked, worshiped, prayed, ate, played and laughed together.
Now when I get an email or phone call from a team member in another location addressing a problem we must solve, or a conflict over how something can be done, I can recall the lunchtime where we talked about our families, and know that she is very much like me in spite of the different work we do, or her different take on how to solve a problem.
If you catch yourself using “they” when thinking about a group in your church, neighborhood, workplace, or those from other countries, nationalities or religions, put yourself in the shoes of the “other.” How would this look from the viewpoint of my colleague? How would I feel if my religion was a minority religion? How would I feel if because of the actions of a few people in my religion, I was labeled “bad” or suspect?
For more on the documentary go to http://www.WagingPeaceAlternatives.com. Or write to me at Another Way, Box 22, Harrisonburg, VA 22803, or MelodieD@MennoMedia.org.
Another Way is a column from Third Way Media by Melodie Davis. She is the author of nine books, most recently Whatever Happened to Dinner and has written Another Way since 1987. She is also the producer and co-host of Shaping Families radio program (shapingfamilies.com) airing nationally.
Even at football games where a game has been intense and our team wins, or even if it loses, he often strikes up a conversation with parents or fans of the rival team. We’ve met some interesting people that way including the father of Tim Hightower who now plays for the Washington Redskins (when not injured). It always makes that team a little more “real” or human when we see Hightower on TV.
What we’re always struck by is how speaking with fans of the opposing team also humanizes them: they want their team to win just as badly, they flew thousands of miles (in the case of a national championship game) to see their kid or band member (in our case) play.
The same principle holds true in relating to people of other faiths, cultures or races. When we get to know people of other religions or cultures, it humanizes them: they want their children to grow up happy and healthy, they work hard to put food on the table, they celebrate their children’s triumphs and feel their failures just as keenly.
This is where the clashes between ideologies break down: we may never agree with or come to accept the other person’s beliefs or opinions, but one-on-one, we can see that the other person is a human being like us who loves his or her parents and children and country. This truth comes out in a documentary our office produced which is airing through Dec. 18 on ABC TV stations (at the discretion of local stations) called Waging Peace: Muslim and Christian Alternatives (see http://www.wagingpeacealternatives.com/ for more information). While exploring the peacemaking threads and traditions that exist in both faiths, the people in the documentary illustrate how getting to know people of other faiths, learning more about their religion, tradition and history, and actually working with them--goes a long way to make or keep peace in communities and countries.
It is that way in our work or educational lives as well. I’ve thought about that several times as our company merged with another one this year. It isn’t easy emotionally to merge the “cultures” and staffs of two organizations, on top of the physical and mental effort of working through all the changes required when two businesses merge. Especially when, as is often the case these days, some employees work from a distance at their homes or offices in other locations.
Two things helped our staff immensely. One was working together at a convention where a number of staff had the opportunity to work long days together and also eat many meals together. Second was a staff retreat where we worked, worshiped, prayed, ate, played and laughed together.
Now when I get an email or phone call from a team member in another location addressing a problem we must solve, or a conflict over how something can be done, I can recall the lunchtime where we talked about our families, and know that she is very much like me in spite of the different work we do, or her different take on how to solve a problem.
If you catch yourself using “they” when thinking about a group in your church, neighborhood, workplace, or those from other countries, nationalities or religions, put yourself in the shoes of the “other.” How would this look from the viewpoint of my colleague? How would I feel if my religion was a minority religion? How would I feel if because of the actions of a few people in my religion, I was labeled “bad” or suspect?
For more on the documentary go to http://www.WagingPeaceAlternatives.com. Or write to me at Another Way, Box 22, Harrisonburg, VA 22803, or MelodieD@MennoMedia.org.
Another Way is a column from Third Way Media by Melodie Davis. She is the author of nine books, most recently Whatever Happened to Dinner and has written Another Way since 1987. She is also the producer and co-host of Shaping Families radio program (shapingfamilies.com) airing nationally.
Published: November 7, 2011
