The reason we have churches is to associate ourselves with other people who believe the same things we do. Our deity can be worshiped, and learned about in any location, any situation, whether alone or with a group. But we go to church events to be with other people who will have a good influence on us. Many churches, and church goers will often refuse to associate with people who do not believe in their deity or people who have ‘lower moral standards’ because they know that those people will influence them to falter. It’s often said that when it comes to relationships between someone who is religious and someone who isn’t that ‘Missionary dating leads to the missionary position.’ It won’t be the fault of the other person, but it happens.
If a person who does not use profanity spends more and more time around people who do use profanity, that person will eventually let a profane word slip. A person, who doesn’t drink but hangs out with friends in a bar, will eventually give it a go and have a beer. And after having one beer, what would be so wrong with having another? The more we let ourselves be around other people, the more we tend to act like them.
It’s been said that a family dog may start to look like the family, and it can be true. Traits of our surroundings influence us.
The saying about society always going to the least common denominator, it’s true. Mob mentality is a real thing. A group of protesters often does not become violent until the riot police show up and start trying to control the crowd. One person in the crowd may get upset and push back. Then the police begin to push, and then another person gets upset with the police and does something, and then the police use force to stop the one or two people. Next a larger number of protesters start protesting the police, and soon a full riot breaks lose, and people get hurt, or possibly killed. If the riot police hadn’t shown up in riot gear, the protest may likely not have become violent. At least this is true for many cases, though certainly not all.
If a happy person spends time around an angry person, or a depressed person, that happy person starts to feel upset or depressed. The opposite can also be true, that if one spends time with happy people, he will start to feel happier. It’s contagious, the good and the bad.
For fun, I sometimes watch a news program that I disagree with. I get so angry at them for saying negative things about what I believe, I can’t help it. Or if I watch a program that I agree with, I get excited that someone else feels the way I do. Or I feel more empowered to act in stronger ways on what I believe. A conservative that turns on liberal media will become angry, and a liberal that turns on conservative media will become angry. A conservative watching conservative media will feel empowered; while a liberal watching liberal media will feel empowered. Which way is right, I will not say, and does not matter right now. This is to say that we are influenced by what we watch, hear, see, and the people we surround ourselves with.
I would not believe that every member of the Nazi army were evil people to begin with, or every person who followed Hitler, or called themselves German, however, they were influenced by him and many performed evil acts. In the movie Lord of the Rings, as Frodo and Sam meet Faramir for the first time, one of Faramir’s men has killed a young man from an opposing army. Faramir looks down at the killed boy, and asks “The Enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. You wonder what his name is, where he comes from, and if he really was evil at heart. What lies or threats led him on this long march from home, and would he not rather have stayed there... in peace? War will make corpses of us all.” Someone in power, who had the ear of a great multitude of people, said something: that someone else was bad for his people. And people listened, and chose to do something about it. The Muslim church has done this, the Christian and Catholic church has done this, the same as the Nazis, and the same as American politicians and commentators—though to varying degrees, but still similar situations at their very basics.
People listen to the people in power. People listened to Hitler, and people listened to Jesus. Now, of course, we all know that those two people are very different, they preached different things: Jesus preached peace and love, while Hitler said that the Jews were dangerous and lesser people. People who are in the public eye have a very large number of people who listen to them, and are influenced by them. And people will invariably take the extreme of what someone in power says. Now, that is not all people, but some will.
We allow people to have freedom of speech; however, if someone tries to burn an American flag on the steps of the capital, they are going to be arrested. It could be argued that that person was just expressing their right to free speech, but there will be consequences for that statement. We do have freedom of speech: to say what we want, but we must understand that what is said does have consequences.
Right now, in America, we mourn the assassination of a political figure who believed strongly in a certain way that people should live and exist together. Someone else felt that she was wrong to believe the way she did. But, we have freedom of speech, and freedom to believe what we believe, and anyone can disagree with it. But it is how a person acts out that disagreement that is what matters. Responsibility must be taken for your own actions. For public figures, they must consider how someone else will take their words. They must understand that if you give an inch, someone will take a mile.
I will not say that certain people are wrong to disagree; they have every right to disagree, and to tell others that they disagree. But it is the strength of words used, and the tone of voice used that I will disagree with. If a person sets up a map with crosshairs on it, and tells their viewers that people are under those crosshairs, someone is going to think of a gun. But, the message could have easily been conveyed using a star or a dot. The message of “cast your vote so these people are removed from office” can be conveyed with a dot—gun crosshairs are not needed. Someone will always take something the wrong way, an extreme way. A slight hint of violence causes someone to be very violent—give an inch, they’ll take a mile. A picture is worth a thousand words.
Again, I say, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, we have the right to disagree with each other, we have the right to express that disagreement, but we must be careful with how we say things. And this is especially true for those in the public eye, people that are admired, and respected. We must be responsible for our own words, as they do influence the actions of others. Always ask yourself, “How will someone interpret what I say? What will they do with that?” Especially if people listen to you.
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