It was only a moment out of my day, while shopping at a local grocery.
But as I’ve thought about it since, it symbolizes something huge.
I’m not extremely short, but I wasn’t quite tall enough to reach the item I needed on the high shelf.
“Need a hand?” said another woman, a few inches taller than me, as she reached up, grabbed the item, and handed it to me.
I thanked her, and each of us continued shopping.
I don’t know anything about that woman’s politics, but I’m guessing that she and I might have found numerous areas of disagreement if we had sat down to discuss issues and candidates.
The reason I think that is because this is a very conservative part of the country, Of course individuals here (as probably anywhere in the country) could vary in their thinking from super-MAGA to super-lefty.
But the odds are that my helper and I would have been on opposite sides of about any debate.
That day, however, our interaction was reduced to the basics: I needed something; she could provide it.
So she did. Probably almost automatically, without giving much thought to it.
Another person is in need. I can help. So of course I do.
People come to the aid of others whom they don’t know all the time: Someone is in a body of water, flailing, in danger of drowning, and someone else jumps in to pull him out. A stranded motorist is trying to change a flat tire on her vehicle, clearly having a hard time, and another motorist stops to help her.
Lots of other common interactions could be mentioned that take place every day.
Is that maybe a key to toning down the temperature of our political discussions these days? To remember that this is another person you’re dealing with?
A person with the same needs and abilities that you yourself have?
I’m as guilty as anyone of putting people in categories, of knowing one or two things about them and, from that limited knowledge, making assumptions about their beliefs and likely actions.
In this polarized time of overheated rhetoric, snide remarks, and even violence thrown at each other, let’s all take time to step back, take a breath, and really see that other person.
As a person. Someone much like you, or me.
I think I’ll try it. Will you?