There are things that I want to say… things that I want you to hear. I only wish I had the courage to expose my heart to you. Melania’s jacket simply said “I REALLY DON’T CARE. DO U?” The answer is yes – yes I care. I wish I didn’t, but dammit I care what you think about me, my opinions, my faith, my family, my friends, my politics. I’m cursed with feeling deeply about things while simultaneouslycultivating an image of non-partisanship whose intention is to anger no one but leaves me utterly unhappy with myself. I lurk amongst the blogs and podcasts, the Facebook and Instagram feeds, in either a state of silent contempt or jubilant attaboys that no one ever hears. I’m greatly blessed to have people I call friends from all walks of life wearing labels that someone somewhere has assigned to them – conservative, liberal, gay, straight, religious, agnostic, seeker, some rooted in cultural ideology and others in a mindset of self discovery. As I attempt to learn and appreciate each nuanced perspective, I’ve concluded that in most life applications I must surrender knowing, for empathy.

While I intellectually understand the well intentioned affect that policies have for the safety and greater good of society, and even on my personal comfort and well being – I humbly and gratefully admit that it can be impossible for me to be objective. No one has ever ripped one of my daughters from my arms at a border. No unarmed child of mine has ever been shot in the back for running from a potential crime scene. I never had to know the feeling of being rejected by parents simply because of professed sexual orientation. I’ve never felt humiliated, underpaid, or sexually demeaned simply for being a particular gender. Ironically, in these real life scenarios, I’m the illegal alien. Try as I might to sneak across the lines of knowing, I can only imagine where life, and morality, and justice collide for so many. I do not apologize for my place in this world, nor do I offer any penance for thriving in an environment not of my choosing.

And while there are injustices that I hope to never face, I have felt my share of joy and sorrow, suffocating grief and overwhelming relief. I cradled my baby girls in wide-eyed wonder as they were delivered into the world. I held my mom’s hand as she breathed her last breath. I squeezed my wife and wept uncontrollably as the oncologist gave her the options to fight her breast cancer. I cried tears of unmatched happiness when we were told she was cancer free. I know what it is to be fully human and my spirit leaps when I see our common goodness. I believe in original blessing. I believe that we are created in the image of God. I believe that love keeps no record of wrongs. I believe in the healing power of forgiveness. I believe in the sweet salve of reconciliation. I believe in us. “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”