America, we need to talk... HD

America, we need to talk... Quotes: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”— Stephen R. Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People “[W]e won’t truly progress as individuals until we make an honest effort to understand those that are not like us.” — Sean Blanda, The “Other Side” Is Not Dumb Text of Video: America, we need to talk. I want you to know that this is coming from a loving place, but there are just some things I’ve been seeing happening lately amongst us that just make my heart hurt, and honestly, it pains me to say this, but...sometimes I just...the way you act I just don’t even remember why I fell in love with you in the first place. America, we need to talk, and the first thing that we need to talk about is listening to understand, not to respond. I work part-time as a nanny. When I started, I came home exhausted every day. Because the 18 month old threw tantrum after tantrum all day long when she did not get what she wanted exactly when she wanted it. The worst was lunch time every day from the moment I started making lunch until I put it in front of her she would scream and cry, and the more I told her she had to wait, the louder and more frustrated she became. I was visiting my cousin one day who has a two little ones. and explained to her how hard it is,because she doesn’t understand when I say she has to wait, she doesn’t understand what that means and she just wants what she wants and won’t stop throwing a tantrum until she gets it! My cousin looked at me thoughtfully and said, it has nothing to do with her not understanding what the words you say. I went through the same thing with my daughter at her age. Most tantrums that toddlers throw have nothing to do with what the adult thinks they are about. she threw a tantrum because she felt misunderstood and was frustrated that she felt I did not understand what she wanted or was saying.The next day, the daily lunchtime tantrum that lasted a good 45 minutes everyday, was diffused within three minutes. It was never about the food, it was about feeling misunderstood and as soon as she felt understood, the tantrum was over and she was able to listen to what I had to say, namely, that she couldn’t have the food not because I didn’t understand she wanted it, but because it wasn’t ready. At the height of election season, tensions run high, people sling words at one another, fight on facebook, write long posts about their opinions trying to make sure they are understood. America, we’ve been acting like toddlers lately, but we are not toddlers. We are adults, and it is our responsibility to seek first to understand, then to be understood. We won’t truly progress as individuals until we make an honest effort to understand those that are not like us. There is more we need to talk about but, I want to make sure we don’t talk about too much at once.