Us vs. Them

"What if I told you that the left wing and the right wing belong to the same bird..."

The Left vs. the Right, them vs. us, this religion vs. that religion and it goes on and on and on. I saw the quote above on a Facebook poster and it made me stop and think - it makes a lot of sense. Society and the media is so busy pitting us against each other and drawing divides that people forget to REMEMBER that each wing is part of the same bird. Yes, we have differing opinions and views, but we're all human beings who all come from the same Source - no matter what name you attach to our Source. We all want the same basic things - food, water, freedom, happiness, etc. The us vs. them mentality only creates division. If we could stop pitting ourselves against each other, this human race would find harmony and peace.

Division is based on fear. People are killing each other, treating each other inhumanely because of fear - fear of loss of power, fear of loss of food, water, oil, freedom, you name it. Division is a power play used by groups who wish to be in control and many people buy into it due to fear and societal demands. I saw another Facebook poster that said: You, a banker and a refugee are sitting at a table. There are 19 cookies and the banker takes 18 of them and then turns to you and says - be careful not to let that refugee take your cookie. This is such a perfect example of how there is plenty, yet people are controlling it. Each person should receive 6 cookies with an extra left over, but there's someone who feels the need to take as much as they can just for themselves. It all boils down to greed and control from the "banker" and fear of me losing my cookie to the refugee and the refugee fearing that they will not get a cookie at all. If we all shared and helped each other out - there would not be such lack.

I am a huge fan of Humans of New York. Brandon has done amazing work to bring humanity back into the picture. He reminds us that the person we see in the photo - who may seem so different from us - is, at the heart of it all, just like us. Lately he's been doing a series with the Syrian refugees. If you haven't been following him on Facebook (under Humans of New York), you can also see his photos and stories here. I highly suggest you take some time to read a few. It's not just the stories of the refugees, but also of those helping them.

It's time for us to remember that we are all part of the same bird. It is definitely time we started acting like it. It can be as simple as thinking before you post a negative comment about that other political party or that 'terrorist' group. Stop allowing yourself to be part of the us vs. them mentality. 

Love, Adrienne :)