News and social media like to highlight our differences. Controversy draws viewers. Viewers drive up ratings. Higher ratings and more views mean more money. And sometimes we buy into it without even realizing it.
People who don’t look, talk, or act like us – especially if they’re not from our country – get lumped together as outsiders or the enemy. It’s easy to fear what we don’t know.
We disagree about many things, but are we really all that different?
Consider these real people I’ve seen recently and judge for yourself.
A worker leans out a hotel window to fix the irrigation system for a window box full of flowers. He calls out to a coworker on the sidewalk below for help. Together they solve the problem.
People from all walks of life pray quietly in an ancient stone cathedral.
A 50-something woman in a t-shirt and denim shorts speaks urgently to a 30-something woman who shows the older woman much deference and respect. Their tone is animated and serious, suggesting family drama vibes.
Lawnmowers hum in the distance.
A short-haired 70-something woman in a navy cardigan speaks to her balding husband with the comfortable familiarity of people who’ve been together a very long time. They smile as another older couple approaches; they seem to know each other well.
A man carefully trims hydrangeas and petunias in flowerpots along a wall.
A 10- or 11-year-old boy with messy dark hair wipes his tired eyes and leans on his hand, looking bored, as he sits at a restaurant table with his parents. His brunette mom lights a cigarette and drinks coffee as she chats with his dad.
Restaurant waitstaff loudly clears breakfast dishes and gets ready for the lunch rush.
With her hair in a ponytail and Converse sneakers on her feet, a brunette in her early 20’s heads out on the overcast day for a walk with her dog.
Regular people weigh fruit and order deli food in the grocery store, exchanging pleasantries with those working behind the counters.
A mom in yoga pants, a sweatshirt, and hiking shoes smiles and talks gently to her elementary-aged daughter, smoothing her hair while waiting in line for a bathroom.
Shop owners unlock their doors and set up tables and chairs or merch for sale on the sidewalk as they open their businesses for the day.
An eight- or nine-year-old girl carefully helps her toddler sister (cousin?) down a big step.
Drivers crawl at a snail’s pace down the highway, impatient traffic trailing behind them.
A couple of men walk leisurely through town holding hands.
A 40-something woman with a top knot talks on her cell phone, laughing lightly. Clutching a red suede cinch sack and a restless brown dog on a leash, she hangs up her call to discuss something with her curly-haired teenage daughter. The daughter pleads with her mom for something, but her mom’s not having it.
Neighbors and friends grab a quick morning coffee on their way to work.
A man directs traffic into a national park, repeating “do you have a reservation?” in what must be hundreds of times a day to cars entering the restricted space.
A pair of 20-somethings hold hands, oblivious to the world around them.
Two women socialize on benches near a lake next to a wooden pop-up library box.
English is not the native language for most (any?) of these people. But once you zoom in, their lives and interactions don’t look all that foreign.
Maybe we’re more alike than we think.
