There Is No Them. There Is Only Us.

All the calls for unity mean nothing if we aren’t going to put in the work for reconciliation.

Nov 20, 2020

smiling girl with braces sitting in her classroom with other students — Photo by Jeswin Thomas on Unsplash

Hey, Y’all!

At my core, I am a peacemaker.

In fact, I detest conflict and will avoid it almost at all costs.

My friends and I joke about me being a “9” on the enneagram, which is a way of explaining the different personalities people have and their underlying motivation.

I won’t get into it here. If you are interested, this is a long, but good explainer.

So if you are like me at all, those people who are not a fan of conflict, this year has been a doozy. There has always been discord, but there is something particularly sinister about 2020.

I was looking at the Weeklyish archive and am reminded of something I wrote back in May when conspiracy theories were running rampant.

I am pretty sure I don’t need to see a YouTube video about the pandemic being a conspiracy just like I don’t need to see one about the world being flat or how vaccines cause autism.

Just swap “pandemic being a conspiracy” with “election being stolen” and this sentence is evergreen.

Y’all. Conspiracies are a distraction.

All the calls for unity mean nothing if we aren’t going to put in the work for reconciliation. More directly, we need to be in relationships with people who don’t think like us.

That is inclusion, isn’t it? We preach that inclusive education doesn’t work when we just put students with disabilities and typically developing students together and just expect it to work. Inclusion requires planning and intentionality. Sure, it requires a mindset shift, and people need to be open. But they won’t get the chance unless we try.

This is not a right or left issue. It is not a blue or a red state problem. All of this language further frames it into an Us v. Them mindset.

There is a time to speak truth to power. But I believe that truth can be spoken in love. The longer we wait to reach out to people who don’t think like us, the more divided we are going to be. And my fear is that it will be too late. I really hope that I am wrong.

Here is your homework assignment this week. Reach out to someone who doesn’t think like you and let them know you are thinking about them. Maybe even ask how they are doing? Since you subscribe to the Weeklyish, I know that you are interested in inclusion. We all have to do the work to expand our circle so we don’t live in echo chambers.

Next week is Thanksgiving in the United States. I hope that as we celebrate however we feel is appropriate, we can start to heal. And that healing starts with me and you.

Have a fantastic week.

Tim

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