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Turner Hess
Critical Discourse
28 September 2017
In one corner stands my family that is founded on love. Love for each other, love for
God, and love for others has been a guiding principle in how Ive been raised. My parents have
never fought in front of me, if at all in my 17 plus years. Ive always felt loved and supported in
everything that I have done and every challenge that I have faced. They have set the bar for the
And in the other corner stands what I see in the media everyday. I see protesters
demanding the right to love as they choose while fighting a hate-filled war with those who have
stricter standards that they believe should be enforced throughout society. I see those fighting a
war for equality and love for all races, genders, sexualities, and every other walk of life
imaginable, while berating those who pose a potential threat to their ideals without having
And as I near the age of adulthood and truly enter a society that my parents and
grandparents would never have imagined, I find myself conflicted. I find myself aligned with
certain ideas on every side, and yet sharply opposed to the actions of most of them. There seems
to be nothing but hatred spewing from these encounters with at least one view having the sole
purpose of making love possible for everyone. Its so overwhelmingly present in the media that I
have refused to tune in for so long out of fear for overwhelming myself. There seems to be no
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conversation happening without name calling or personal attacking in this realm of politics.
Being the religious person that I am, Im even more confused by the very different sides of these
arguments that I see other people of faith taking. I have so many questions, and yet no one seems
This curiosity has finally been answered, although not all at once, and it certainly leads to
a much larger question. I remember many nights spent at my youth group at church or at a small
group meeting with the guys there, and having the conversations always turn to these hot button
topics. Events like Ferguson and Charlottesville, and most definitely the presidential election,
always seemed to reignite the question: how should we as Christians view and respond to these
issues. Anything from racial and gender tensions to immigration laws to terrorism were on the
I remember one night in particular when we the conversation shifted towards the Syrian
refugee crisis, a very significant problem that still faces the world today. Naturally, my youth
pastor asked what we thought America should do, but more specifically, how we as Christians
should respond to this issue. Every response imaginable was given. Some thought that the
borders should be closed as to protect our citizens from terrorists trying to enter the country.
Others said that vetting needed to be improved but the border should remain accessible by all
people. And still others believed that America is still the melting pot we learn about in our
elementary history classes and that anyone should come and go as they please.
And then came our youth pastors response to all of it. His view was very much separated
into two parts, but his focus was on love. Specifically, he said we need to love the least of these
as Christ loved the least of these. He explained the savior we believe in came to this world to
save all of us, the least worthy of love, but did so with love for all of humanity. While He was
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here, He chose the common people and served the least desirable in the the world: the poor, sick,
and despised. And it is with this love that my youth pastor said we should extend to all of those
suffering in this crisis, a love that is welcoming and understanding of their pain, and a heart that
is willing to help.
At first, many of us found that to be hard, considering love is what the same side that
supports abortion and homosexuality and other clearly non-Christian actions is promoting as
their rally cry. But as it was explained to me, this love is one that we need to have for all people,
one that we use to understand the pain in peoples lives and provide the same hope that my God
provides me, that He provides for all of us. And we can use this love to fight for justice and unity
for everyone and dissolve the tensions that exist between one another.It is a revolutionary idea,
but it might just be the only one that allows for a very divided society to possibly fill in the
So what else is there to do than try it? Instead of adding noise to our society, why not
listen and find sense in the mess we find ourselves in. At one point, I was one of those people
who didnt think most of these issues were really issues we still faced as a country and as a
global community. But when studies show that 47% of blacks say someone has acted as if they
were suspicious of them and 45% say people have acted as if they thought they werent smart
(PewResearch.com), some people are clearly still affected by the constructs that had been in
place and we are now trying to remove. And as I see the world around me becoming globalized
and connected, I find that there is no room for division and hate, as tensions have mounted into
violence before and will continue to do so at a more devastating rate. The only way to become
global is to see each other as humans, despite our differences, worthy of the respect and love that
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humans deserve. This love for humanity is the only thing that can unite us all, that will dissolve
the divisions we face today, and without it, I dont believe we can truly become a global society.
Works Cited
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Stepler, Renee. 5 Key Takeaways about Views of Race and Inequality in America. Pew
takeaways-race-and-inequality/.