RE: RESPECT: CONFLICT is inevitable - COMBAT is optional!

This is so beautifully said. I agree completely. Honoring differences is not hard to do when you go into the world with curiosity instead of judgment, and wonder what you can learn or gain from interacting with others instead of looking askance at them and thinking there is something wrong with them for not being like yourself.

I am also not religious, and I'm no longer sure how religion and spirituality play into this conversation. I grew up in a family that was very religious and my upbringing taught me to love and accept others, in spite of and because of their differences. But ironically, the teachings of my church were that "those other kids" (in the non-Catholic church across the street) would have no place in heaven, which I simply chose not to believe. The idea that a blessing with holy water and a commitment were all that divided me from those kids -- some of whom were my good friends and neighbors -- was a truth I could not accept. And I saw such disappointing hypocrisy. The "love thy neighbor" value simply wasn't taken to heart in a deep and abiding way by many in my church that I crossed paths with. But I digress.

The point in all this that really resonated with me, @jaynie, is that today people seem to be much more judgmental, more us-and-them focused, and far more likely to shout and pound their fists and throw their weight around when someone dares to state an opinion they don't agree with, or dares to disagree with them.

I personally think we're locked in a really bad era right now, and I believe it will get better. I think about periods throughout history when people did truly heinous things to each other, and the fact that those times end and betters times come, and I then I have hope that this is simply one of those periods in history. But it's truly unsettling. And I worry that the children of so judgmental, difference-bashing people will carry those values forward.