‘Colors of the Wind’ and the 2016 Election

Talking about politics online is something I generally avoid. It’s just so divisive. But the rhetoric being thrown around in the current political landscape, especially by my fellow Christians, gives me pause. Now I think I’ve paused long enough.

I think I’m voting for Pocahontas.

I’ve been on a Disney kick on Spotify lately. As the nostalgia washed over me listening to songs I heard as a kid, I realized that the lyrics to one in particular are very powerful. I think it’s time we all take a throwback to our childhood and listen to a classic Disney song — ”Colors of the Wind.”

Look at the lyrics to this song from the Disney movie “Pocahontas.” I want to highlight two quotes from the movie that speak a great deal of truth into our current political landscape.

“You think the only people who are people are the people who look and think like you.”

Wow.

Now, before I go any further, I must give a shout out to my wife, Sarah Charles, for noticing this line when I played the song for her. She’s a genius.

I don’t know about you, but this world would be extremely boring if everyone looked and thought like I do. Our differences make us beautiful. They make us human.

Can we please stop trying to put up walls (literal or figurative) between us? Can we please stop shutting out the sick and the hurting because we think they are a threat?

Now, as I say that, I want to make it clear that this post is not targeted towards any one person or candidate. You may infer what you want, but I felt the urge to respond to the overall rhetoric I’m seeing online and in the media.

I see so much hate and anger in the discussion about the 2016 election. We have differences, yes. But I think there would be massive impact if we shifted our focus off what separates us and onto what we can learn from each other.

Each gender, each race, each background brings so much to the table. We need to start treating each other like the beautiful human beings that we are.

“But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you’ll learn things you never knew you never knew.”

Some of the greatest learning experiences of my life came when I stepped into a different culture and experienced life from another person’s point of view. Every year in high school, my youth group went on a missions trip to a Lakota Indian reservation in South Dakota. In my senior year of college, I took a trip to the Dominican Republic. One was in the United States and one was outside. Both were transformative experiences.

Our view gets so narrow sometimes. We see everything through the lens of our own experiences. That’s not a bad thing! Obviously our view of the world will be from our own personal perspective.

But we need to have a better understanding of the fact that the world is so much bigger than us. It’s bigger than our city, state or country. It’s bigger than our culture.

It’s bigger than the 2016 election.

Looking over my Facebook feed, I see so much hateful rhetoric being thrown around in this election. It may not be possible to actually walk in the footsteps of a stranger in this case, but at least we can try to have some empathy.

If things keep going the way they’re going, I may just write in Pocahontas as a candidate.