Sometimes it\u2019s been me\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes it\u2019s been me who wouldn\u2019t listen. Sometimes it\u2019s been me who said I was listening but really wasn\u2019t \u2014 I was just thinking of what I\u2019d say next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes it\u2019s been me who was utterly convinced I was totally right\u2026 that I had the only right perspective\u2026 that only I had all the facts and there was little more to learn\u2026 and if another presented some other angle or contradicting fact, I simply assumed mine meant more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes it\u2019s been me who intentionally ignored the perspective of another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes it\u2019s been me who found comfort in the echo chamber. Sometimes it was me who felt more justified, better about myself, you-name-it because my likeminded friends all emphatically agreed and made the one who was courageous enough to share a minority opinion feel like it was only a minority opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes it\u2019s been me who had to have the last word. Sometimes it\u2019s been me who justified the mic drop\u2026 feeling my words needed to be the ones that resonate longest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes it\u2019s been me who got my entire story from CNN, Fox News, <\/em>or MSNBC<\/em> and then represented such as the complete truth. Sometimes it\u2019s been me who was manipulated by the biased news. Sometimes I even knew it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it\u2019s been me who\u2019s criticized another. Sometimes harshly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it\u2019s been me who didn\u2019t actually cast the insult on social media, but was silent when the one I disagreed with was insulted. Sometimes it\u2019s been me who justified the insult \u2014 maybe only in my head, but justified just the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it\u2019s been me who again didn\u2019t say it, but liked the insult of another. Sometimes it\u2019s been me who thought the word \u201cidiot,\u201d \u201cstupid\u201d or \u201cbitch\u201d at the end of someone else\u2019s sentence was funny. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it\u2019s been me who ignored the obvious dishonesty or exaggeration from the person I like where they stand politically. Sometimes even a president or press secretary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it\u2019s been me who took the conversation too far. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it\u2019s been me who has forgotten that even a stopped clock is right twice a day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it\u2019s been me who put boundaries on a relationship because of them, unwilling to examine my own behavior first. Sometimes it\u2019s been me who actually ignored my own behavior. My wrongdoing, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it\u2019s been me who ignored the lack of integrity in the pundit or politician \u2014 especially when they made the point I wanted them to. Sometimes it\u2019s been me who ignored the obvious playing of politics and political theater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it\u2019s been me who assumed the radical fringe of the party stood most for the party\u2026 allowing a few to represent the many because the few were so seemingly outrageous. One can demonize the party faster that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it\u2019s been me who raised the intensity and drama \u2014 i.e. \u201cThis means war!\u201d\u2026 \u201cWe must save our country!\u2026 It\u2019s the end of the world as we know it!\u201d \u2014 not realizing my emotions had again gotten the best of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sadly, sometimes it\u2019s been me who ignored the lack of integrity in myself. I ignored the hypocrisy, too, convincing myself I\u2019m incapable of such.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it\u2019s been me who refused to say I\u2019m sorry\u2026 or who embraced humility. Sometimes I\u2019ve determined that that humility was more for another than for self. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it\u2019s been me who failed to love another well\u2026 allowing politics to be more important than people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it\u2019s been me who felt the end justifies the means, ignoring the lack of uprightness in the means… also ignoring who it hurts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it\u2019s been me who refused to empathize\u2026 who failed to love\u2026 who justified something lesser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, in all honesty, it\u2019s been me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Respectfully\u2026 and learning still\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sometimes it\u2019s been me\u2026 Sometimes it\u2019s been me who wouldn\u2019t listen. Sometimes it\u2019s been me who said I was listening but really wasn\u2019t \u2014 I was just thinking of what I\u2019d say next. Sometimes it\u2019s been me who was utterly convinced I was totally right\u2026 that I had the only right perspective\u2026 that only I … <\/p>\n