Dear friends and family who are thinking about voting for Trump - annie's blog:

If you’re a Christian and you’re treating immigrants poorly, talking about them badly, voting against them having a chance at a better life, blaming them for things they absolutely cannot control, or spouting rhetoric about closing our borders you are violating the clear directives given to you in the Bible. How do you justify this? What’s your reasoning? How are you better than these immigrants? Why is it okay for you to look down on them? Why don’t these Biblical mandates apply to you? Why don’t these clear commands to care for the poor, the weak, the orphan, the widow, and the foreigner matter to you? Why are you listening to Fox News more than you’re reading the Bible? Why do you care more about protecting your own than opening up your home to those in need? Are you even a Christian? What’s going on? Why don’t you care about the poor, all of them?

I initially wrote this in reply to @Annie and I thought I also wanted to share it in my blog.

Annie’s post has a few days but it just showed up in my timeline. I relate so much to that message. But I think every effort is futile. At least, in my case, I gave up a long time ago. For years and years I tried to reason with my religious relatives and friends: You are right, guys, your Book has tons and tons of answers, but you are looking for them in the wrong places! See, here, and here, and here again, you are supposed to be compassionate, empathetic, generous, loving! There’s no place whatsoever for superiority, bigotry and hatred in your Book!

I never moved the needle one bit.

The problem is, I think, that our beliefs are not rational (even my own). Our ideology is not the product of reasoning, even if we think it is a decent ideology. Everything in the end is about how and what we feel, what our imagination tells us. So I gave up trying to reason with religious or political fanatics.

Evolution gave us a brain with incredible skills, a mind capable of thinking logically and dreaming big. But we are still, deep in our cells, animals in a constant struggle for survival, and fear is our most powerful emotion. Reason never did beat fear.

Thanks for the good read, Annie.