Whoever You Are and However You Voted, You Are (Still) My Neighbor

What if every word we say
Never ends or fades away,
Gathers volume gathers weigh,
Drums and dins us with dismay
Surges on some dreadful day
When we cannot get away
Whelms us till we drown?

Poet Malcolm Guite’s words ring a solemn warning while post-election analysis, rife with bliss and blame, weighs the heart. There is so little grace in the conversation, so little desire to understand the other.

It’s not that I don’t get the tears and fears of the left or the prideful payback coming from the right. People have to feel their feelings and we must listen to them first. But it seems that we can’t see each other anymore; we’ve completely lost a healthy appreciation for human differences. Word after angry word, from winners and losers alike.

And yet, while scrolling through the post-election coverage in my feed, I happened on possibly the most humbling Instagram reel I’ve ever seen. And “it’ given me hope to carry on.”

Singer-songwriter Andy Gullahorn shared an idea he had years ago as political polarization began rising in the world: “I decided to do something that would help my own heart on Election Days,” he wrote. “I signed up to be a poll worker.”

What a stunner.

Such grace-filled thoughts fly under the radar of media coverage, but they happen more often than we know. Gullahorn continued:

I wanted to be reminded all day that the people who came in to vote – no matter who they voted for – were not just real life humans but were my neighbors.

In the reel Gullahorn walks to an outdoor chair with his acoustic guitar, sits down and sings “Neighbor” (a song he wrote with JJ Heller. He concludes the post by urging, “if you want to hear a good version of it, listen to hers.”

And so I did.

When I listen to election news coverage, I feel helpless and confused. I dearly love people on both sides of the aisle and remember a time when it was socially acceptable to do so. Well, it doesn’t need to be socially acceptable. It just has to be right.

When I listen to this song, I remember reality. Perfect love casts out fear and God is the Source of that love.

“I hope we can all find our own ways to connect with the humanity and dignity of people we disagree with politically,” Gullahorn said.

So do I.

Whoever you are and however you voted, Election Day is over, and you are (still) my neighbor.

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You might also enjoy Neither Share a Reckless Rant nor Post a Mocking Meme: Give Me a Clean Heart and Love Your Neighbor as Yourself: How America’s Fascination with Mr. Rogers Can Help Heal our Culture’s Vitriolic Division.

Malcolm Guite’s poem “What If” was inspired by the words of Christ in Matthew 12:36: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will render an account for every careless word they speak.” I am so guilty. But I believe in grace, and I’m not giving up.

Photo by Ditto Bowo on Unsplash.