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By Chris Adams

Ideas grab us, tightening their grip around our minds as they become more than just fleeting thoughts. When an idea takes root deep within, it can shape and mold our entire existence in ways we don’t even recognize. An idea becomes an ideology, and suddenly, we find that the whole of our lives serves this ideology.

This is the American political experience: two parties, two platforms, and two candidates whose ideologies separate Americans right down the middle. We’re then forced into a battle of ideas as we move closer to Election Day. We know that this political gridlock is toxic and has ultimately harmful effects on the American populace.

We can trace how our current political language has morphed from policy disagreements into insulting and dehumanizing labels. The truth is that we will never find the best in one another if we don’t stop thinking of the worst things we can say about each other in an attempt to gain power or leverage.

The best in one another. Wouldn’t it be amazing if the world thrived because people like you and me sought to find and celebrate the best in one another? Just imagine how different our election cycles would be if we chose to be gracious with one another by first finding the common humanity in the person with whom we disagree. Imagine how different your everyday life would be if you were on the receiving end of messages of affirmation and love rather than encountering ideological dividing lines everywhere you looked.

A problem I’ve noticed, though, is that everybody wants to be loved, but not everybody wants to do the hard work of loving others. We are always looking for someone else to blame, someone else to be at fault, when perhaps the fault lies with us.

How different would your life look if you decided to be the fountain of love you want to see in the world? How differently would you feel if you chose to get behind a truly revolutionary ideology that says, “First and foremost, we are fellow humans stumbling our way through history, and we are all worthy of love and affection.”
This world is hard enough. We don’t need to make it harder for ourselves by constantly finding ways to chip away at each other’s inherent dignity and beauty.

What idea or ideology most profoundly shapes your life? What have you given yourself over to in an act of surrender or commitment? All of us have done it, whether intentionally or not. Yet, this move towards transforming our politics and relationships only happens when courageous truth is brought to the forefront.

Here’s my challenge, as silly or naïve as it may sound, decide to do all you can to build others up rather than tearing them down. Decide to be the best version of yourself so that you can help others become the best versions of themselves.

Sometimes, I’ll end my services with the following blessing: ‘Do all that you can that brings you life and do all that you can to bring others to life.’ We are, of course, still going to disagree on a great many things in the coming months. But, at the very least, we should be able to agree that we are dealing with fellow human beings deserving of grace, love, and mercy. Let’s decide to do and be better. We’ve got to try something else because how we treat one another simply isn’t working anymore.

Chris Adams is the Rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Washingto