Red, Blue, and Purple

 "Come now, let us reason together." 

Isaiah 1:18

Is it just me, or does it feel like we're being shoved further and further into neatly labeled boxes? We can quickly scan which box someone fits into in a matter of seconds, and easily know all we care to know about them based on a few comments. Social psychology would say this kind of categorizing (aka-prejudging) used to be adaptive once upon a time. It helped us quickly assess a risk and sort out predator from ally. But now it's just lazy. 

Amazon does it...."People who bought this, also bought..."

Netflix does it....."People who watched this also watched..."

Pinterest does it..."You might also be interested in..."

Facebook does it..."Other articles related to this are..."

If you're a public figure, you've probably done it to yourself...we can it branding.

We do it to each other, even if it's subconscious. 

"You've researched the death penalty, and what you've found is deeply unsettling in your heart? = So, what you're really saying is you hate babies. Why do you want to kill unborn babies?"

"You're against abortion? = So what you're saying is you hate immigrants. Why do you want to put immigrant children in cages?"

"You believe that the lives of black people do matter? = How un-American! Why do you hate the police?"

"You have a flag on your pick up truck?= You probably have a framed, life-size portrait of Trump on your wall. And you bought way too much toilet paper."

"You have no desire to own a gun?= Obviously you want to stomp on the flag and you're a communist. So why did you still buy too much toilet paper?"

Wait...what?!?!?!? 

We're really not sure who's responsible for the toilet paper problem. No one's fessing up there.

But, either way, do these examples sting a little? Are they a little familiar, even if they're absolutely absurd? They sting me too. And while neither of us may have used these exact jumps in stream of consciousness, we've probably made some strange speculations. We've combined things that should be fairly unrelated. Since when do each of these things have to be mutually exclusive? What ever happened to the phrase, "Yes...and..."?

Recently a mom in a group I'm a part of shared that her teenage daughter was at work and some man came up to her and said, "You look like a girl who voted for Biden." And continued by making a threat. How does someone look like a person who voted for Biden? Forget that she was actually too young to vote. 

Can we agree that we've gotten unreasonable in our far fetched assumptions? That we're not all red people or blue people? That a lot of us are actually purple? Or mauve or magenta, or indigo or teal. We are more complicated than we've come to believe. We are also more simple. Can we get back to knowing each other in more colorful, multi-dimensional ways again?

I'll start-

My name is Christy.

I'm a follower of Christ. I don't remember a time before I loved God with all my heart, soul and mind. This is not just one thing about me. It is ALL THE THINGS about me.

My husband, my two little boys, and my parents are my favorite people in the whole world and I'd do anything for them. I'm sure you feel the same about your family.

My favorite pleasure in life is a good story. My favorite kinds of stories are realistic or historical fiction. Francine Rivers and Jodi Picoult are my go-to authors when I don't know what to read. I like stories about families, like This is Us, and Parenthood, and political or medical dramas, like Madam Secretary, and New Amsterdam. But I also love the Hunger Games trilogy and Harry Potter. Maybe because of the real life truths I see buried in the fantasy plots. 

I love music. I used to play the piano and the clarinet but now I just play the radio. I mostly love Coldplay, U2, Switchfoot, Mumford and Sons, and the Avett Brothers. But I also love me some Johnny Cash, Taylor Swift, George Straight, and any of those cheesy pop songs they play at wedding receptions, like the Cupid Shuffle. Especially the Cupid Shuffle. I also have a favorite Kanye West song. Don't tell anyone.

I like avocado toast. I wish that I liked cauliflower rice. I love Taco Bell but I wish I didn't. I put raisins in my popcorn. Chocolate chip cookies and cheese enchiladas make the world go around. My favorite restaurant is Cafe Boa Bistro in Tempe. The importance of coffee goes without saying.

I hate math. I am not athletic. I am not cool. 

Maybe none of this is common ground. That's okay. We can start here, and learn from each other. But, maybe I'll find out, like in the words of one of my favorite stories, you're the "same kind of different as me." I want to know more than who you voted for. Help me see you better.