As you know, most everything I do in my work, whether in person or online, has to do with crossing bridges of one kind or another. I take no greater joy than helping others discover new sights, new cultures, new languages, and new ways of seeing the world. This is because I myself have been transformed many times over by these kinds of experiences.
I don't write much at all about politics. It's not that I'm not tempted to sometimes. But I've chosen to mostly stay out of the political arena in my writing (with the possible exception of an occasional Tweet :-)).
But we're all about to face a challenge -- a significant bridge to cross -- that has been looming for months now.
We're all going to need to cross the bridge toward the one(s) who voted for the other candidate.
You know as well as I do that we can't go on like this. We can't go on as a fragmented, polarized, us vs. them society. It is tearing us apart. Regardless of your political persuasion, if we are going to be the United States of America, it is going to demand that each of us cross the bridge. I'm not saying it's going to be easy. Most of us have close friends (or used to be), not to mention family members, who see things differently than we do.
I'm not going to lie. It is sometimes easier for me to relate to someone across the ocean than someone across the street. Something tells me, though, that I'm not the only one who is facing challenges ahead as we seek to reunite. But we must.
What bridge is waiting for you?