Thanksgiving is a great time to forgive those who dumped you for your political views
We’ve all seen it: Loved ones you had deep connections with for decades suddenly carry a scowl when they see you.People choose to terminate their association with you based on your political affiliation.Too many of us, myself included, have had relationships, even with loved ones, torn apart because of our political stances.Yet some people eventually seek a pathway for reunification.
This Thanksgiving, you may be faced with such a person at the dinner table and unsure how to approach resolving your fractured relationship.Can — should — we forgive them for breaking our hearts?It certainly can be worth the try.True, it’s not just that they ended the relationship, but how and why they did.
They may have acted like petulant children, slandered our reputations, framed us as closed-minded monsters while refusing to hear our political perspectives.They may have seemed ecstatic to burn bridges, smiling like sinister pyromaniacs as our relationships billowed up into a cloud of dark smoke.You want to give thanks for what you have on Thanksgiving, but it’s hard when you’re utterly aware of what you lost.Forgiveness may be the most difficult virtue.It feels antithetical to give grace to someone you feed doesn’t deserve it — but the gut instinct to remain in rage only eats at the soul.If you stay angry at former friends or family over dumb political disagreements, you’ll ultimately hurt yourself, as well as them.That’s because forgiveness is a gift you hand yourself.
It’s a way to let go of blind anger and grievances.Forgiveness provides an opportunity to stand virtuously upright instead of remaining held down by hatred.Consider, too, that we often focus on how we’ve been hurt — yet forget how we may have also been the perpetrators of pain.And that someone in your life may have forgiven you for your sinful deeds.How can you be truly thankful for the grace shown you if you don’t do likewise for others?COVID mania and the hysterical anti-Trump propa...