At long last, have we no sense of decency?

So it seems that we are going to have an election next year.  I am going to have to go into pre-election news black-out at the earliest point ever.  And, for the first time, I may include a Facebook blackout.

I love to follow current events and political matters. I feel it is my duty as a citizen and it is more interesting than "the Cat in the Hat knows a lot about that".  I can't even believe the level of vitriol we've reached when we are still fifteen months away from voting.  I worry about our nation's soul, especially when Great Britain seems to be coming apart at the seams and London is doing a great impression of a Third World city.  What the hell is going on?

Members of one political party labeling a fair-sized group of Americans (as well as some of their Congressional colleagues) as "terrorists"? Name calling...that's so fourth grade.  True confession- I have been known to refer to certain persons as "socialists", but unlike "terrorist", it is the name for a proponent of a political/ economic system. Might I add that Bernie Sanders (VT) wears it with pride.  Terrorists try to achieve their goals through intimidation and violence while creating a climate of fear that weakens resistance to them and their aims. Sounds more like the rioters in London than Senator Rubio, no? Aren't there enough people elsewhere that wish us as a nation harm? Do we have to turn on each other?

I really try to think things through. I try to apply reason before deciding on things, though my faith and life experiences will be the lens through which I perceive the world.  I really like our Constitution; I think the founders did a bang-up job. I am wary of ideas that may have the unintended consequence of limiting freedoms guaranteed by that document. I enjoy hearing different viewpoints, especially from other people whom I believe think carefully about their opinions.

I am therefore dismayed when I see people on Facebook write the equivalent of "If you don't agree with me, you can't be my friend."  Wow. Really? I am also surprised at how frequently I see it. I rather enjoy having friends who are not in lock-step agreement with me. I really think it enriches my life. But the lack of "tolerance" for differing opinions makes me sad.  And tolerance is not a one-way street.  I would love to see mutual respect flow from left to right and back again. What exactly are we teaching our children?  That we are only friends with people who think just like we do? Apply that notion to skin color or religion instead of politics, and consider what that says about us as a nation.

We live in conflicted times. I hope we find our way back to living with kindness and charity towards our fellow man. I wonder if I'll have any Facebook friends left by then.