This is Me Metaphorically Trying to Do Whatever Phil Connors Did to Break Out of Groundhog Day

It seems like we're going around and around in circles here, doesn't it? We wake up. The President does or says something. A lot of us get concerned. Others tells us we are freaking out over nothing or being fooled by the media. People use exclamation marks and ALL CAPS in their social media statuses. We retreat to our safe corners in which people agree with us. Then we call it a day in hopes that tomorrow will be different, but wake up hearing Sonny and Cher sing "I Got You Babe" the next morning. Good Lord, it's exhausting.

There are a lot of theories on how Phil Connors escaped his Punxsutawneayan purgatory in the movie Groundhog Day. The simple read is he simply learned to become a better man and embraced the time loop for what it is. You can decide when you watch the movie, which you should if you haven't. All I know is I want out of this cycle. The difficulty is I can only control myself and I'm a fan of living, so let me try to simply be as honest and kind as I can.

If I speak up about something, I am not trying to be partisan. If I'm speaking about an issue or an executive order like the refugee ban last week, it's because I think it has an impact on people. More often than not, it doesn't have an impact on me because I'm a white, straight, Christian male. But sticking up for others, especially the vulnerable, is what we do as Christians. It's a kind of a non-negotiable. So I, and many of the people that are speaking up, are not trying to be divisive. We're trying to raise genuine concerns about decisions that are detrimental to the lives of God's children.

The speaking up isn't going to stop. So we should all probably get used to it. If we see something messed up, we're going to say something. I don't like to ruffle feathers. I'm a peacemaker. So if I say something, then I think it matters. I don't ask that you agree with me on all issues (I could be wrong on things!), but I do ask that you respect me and others. I have not been blinded by the media or the liberals. Besides being really careful about what I believe in the news, these stances are the natural extension of what I have been taught since I was a child: to love God with all my being and to love my neighbor as myself. People say I should just focus on Jesus. By speaking, I'm trying the best that I can to follow Jesus.

Now I know that the ends might disappoint some of you and I am fairly certain I have been written off by some. I hate that. It truly bothers me, but I can't change that. If we're being honest, I'm massively disappointed with Christians that paint Trump as some sort of hero of the faith or simply say none of this matters. Welcome to humanity! We disappoint each other at an incredible rate!

So where do we go from here? I am going to try my best to be fair to those who disagree with me. I would hope that they would do the same, but I have to be at peace with the fact that I have no control over that. I will try to love my neighbor. I do ask that you don't belittle people for speaking up or accuse them of making a fuss. Most of the people raising their voices whom I know personally are doing it because they sincerely care. So don't accuse them of being sore losers or subtweet them by saying that we all need to rally together and not focus on these matters.

I also ask that you will hold your elected officials accountable. They can be wrong and should be told when they are. Thank you to the Christians who have spoken up. You've done my heart good. I will pray for the president, government leaders, our country, and our world. And I will be ever watchful. I will try to find joy in as many places as I can. I will rebel in all those ways which I wrote about last week.

I will do my best to break the cycle. I don't know if this attempt was more kidnapping the groundhog and driving over a cliff or learning how to do an ice sculpture of Andie MacDowell, but it was an attempt. We've got to get out. May we all try to break this vicious cycle.