Can we disagree and love?

       Two quotes of importance to begin things this fine morning. 

       The Bishop of what we in Methodism call the Louisiana Annual Conference, Cynthia Harvey, said at the just finished General Conference last week, "We don't have to agree but we have to love each other."

       The Apostle Paul wrote, "Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other."

       Just asking: Has there ever been a time in our nation's history where we were so polarized, so apart? The Apostle Paul would have thought the worst of this. He wrote these words above. He MEANT this words above.

       What would this ol' world be like if we did either or both of those thoughts? 

       But that's not where we are. 

In a Pew research study, we find out just how separate we are.

 The study showed that the share of Americans who express consistently conservative or consistently liberal opinions has doubled over the past two decades, from 10% to 21%. As a result, the amount of ideological overlap between the two parties has diminished. The “median,” or typical, Republican is now more conservative than 94% of Democrats, compared with 70% twenty years ago. And the median Democrat is more liberal than 92% of Republicans, up from 64%.  

The share of Republicans who have very unfavorable opinions of the Democratic Party has jumped from 17% to 43% in the last 20 years. Similarly, the share of Democrats with very negative opinions of the Republican Party also has more than doubled, from 16% to 38%. But these numbers tell only part of the story. Among Republicans and Democrats who have a very unfavorable impression of the other party, the vast majority say the opposing party’s policies represent a threat to the nation’s well-being..

Differences between the right and left go beyond politics. Three-quarters of consistent conservatives say they would opt to live in a community where “the houses are larger and farther apart, but schools, stores and restaurants are several miles away,” while 77% of consistent liberals prefer smaller houses closer to amenities. Nearly four times as many liberals as conservatives say it is important that their community has racial and ethnic diversity; about three times as many conservatives as liberals say it is important that many in the community share their religious faith.

Most troubling to me, perhaps is the fact the center has gotten smaller: 39% of Americans currently take a roughly equal number of liberal and conservative positions, down from 49% in surveys conducted in 1994 and 2004.

To those on the ideological right and left, compromise now means that their side gets more of what it wants

In other words, we’re not getting together on much of anything.

Jesus called us to be unified. We’re not. We’re not even trying any longer.

So, can we  "Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other." If we agree to disagree without name-calling, loving each other like members of our own families, perhaps we have a chance.