Connect/ Communicate or Judge/Hate - which is Loving my Neighbor?

Well, maybe, but not always.  I do meet a lot of people and I almost always like them.  You know when you meet someone and they're nice and considerate and you have no idea who they're voting for or how they feel about social or political issues?  I almost always like people then.  Of course, I love most all dogs I meet as well :).

In thinking about the people I meet in real life - you know outside the social media, internet, blogging world.  It's rare that I don't immediately like someone unless they say something hateful on first glance, but I don't think that has ever happened (well, maybe once!).  However in the internet world, sometimes all I know of someone is that they hate a political figure I like or they are on the opposite of an issue I feel strongly about and so it is easy to quickly make up my mind not to like them.  

I had a neighbor campaigning for Justice of the Peace stop by to solicit my vote.  After reading her material, I'm thinking we might not be on the same page in many ways... but at the door, I had a foster puppy in my arms and told her I fostered puppies.  She thanked me for that and said they had rescue dogs and we got into the spay/neuter law / puppy mill legislation discussion and found out we ARE on the same page there. So I don't know if I'll vote for her, but from what I know of her I so far, I definitely like her!

I am definitely not anti-Facebook or social media.  I still appreciate how much Caringbridge and Facebook helped us connect with everyone, as well as feel the love while Randy was ill.  And I'm really not sure how we'd communicate so well in the dog rescue world without Facebook.  So, I'm generally pro-anything that helps communication/connection.  However.....  the "let me throw up my opinion because yours is wrong and you're a bad person" communication does not do anything to make me love someone, even though I'm trying - I consciously am.  And I think most of us are!  

I'm vowing to not judge someone by one comment on a news issue or political post or whatever.  I'm vowing to say a little prayer for them and what they're facing in their life that I have no idea about.  And I'm definitely vowing to #lovemyneighbor wherever they are and whoever they're voting for!