If you weren’t alive, or old enough, that day…trust me, the chaos made us all feel as if everything could end at any moment. No one felt safe. We didn’t know what was going on. Rumors circulated that planes were heading for cities everywhere. When we finally felt as if the planes were accounted for, we breathed in long enough to exhale a very vulnerable love – deeply and freely.

We were all human.

Now, look at who we are, not even 20 years later. We (collectively) don’t see anything human about the person who is of a different faith, or from a certain country, or might vote for that guy or this lady. We want to “stick it to them” or “throw them out” or “watch them cry” because that person sees the world from a different perspective.

We worship people instead of holding values. A difference of opinion has become enough of a trigger for us to build fully-loaded weapons of words, wishing ill upon those who can’t see the same conclusion as ourselves.

I have seen it today, yesterday, last week…and I’ll probably see it tomorrow…threatening, nasty, hate-filled, snide remarks which we KNOW would never be acceptable if said during Sunday dinner with your great-grandma, yet they are handed out like candy, posted publicly for the rest of our lives, on the permanent record that is social media.

When did we lose that feeling of loving thy neighbor, and replace it with wishing thy neighbor destruction? If you feel justified in speaking to people that way, check yourself. Seriously, check yourself. It’s never justified to treat a human like a piece of garbage.

I will continue sobbing for awhile, because I am losing hope that we will ever heal so long as people take pleasure in the plight of “the other”. I hope another 9/11 isn’t what ultimately has to happen, to make us feel our humanity.

Love each other. It’s pretty embarrassing, honestly, to see people hate over the very things our forefathers have told us to love each other *through*.

Something has to wake us up. Please…let it be without tragedy.