If there’s one thing I have been reminded of in my interactions with people this week, it has been that violence is a cycle.
“They don’t respect us,” say the atheists of Christians, “so why should we respect them?”
“They don’t respect us,” say the pagans of Christians, “so why should we respect them?”
“They don’t respect us,” say the Christians of non-Christians, “so why should we respect them?”
The cycle continues.
“They don’t respect us,” say the liberals of the conservatives, “so why should we respect them?”
“They don’t respect us,” say the conservatives of the liberals, “so why should we respect them?”
If we want the cycle of disrespect to stop, the most effective thing we can do is ensure that it stops with us.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
They are very likely to reciprocate the behavior.
Breaking the Cycle 