I’m excited to be joining in with The Indie Exchange’s #FlashFiveFriday event. The premise is very simple: five minutes flash blogging or flash fiction based on a prompt set by The Indie Exchange each week. This week the prompt is Friendship.
The Guidelines
#FlashFiveFriday is a weekly flash fiction/flash blogging prompt.
The rules are very simple if you’d like to take part:
1) Write for no longer than five minutes
2) No upper or lower word limits
3) You must write something new
4) You can prepare your post ahead of time but the 5 minute limit still applies
5) If you add your blog post to the weekly linky (found at The Indie Exchange) you must visit five other blogs that week too to show your support
#FlashFiveFriday: Friendship
Friendships are wonderful, nurturing, sustaining-and messy.
These last few months, as the U.S. election heated up, many friendships were undoubtedly strained. How could they not be, with both candidates and media sources constantly mocking and denigrating opponents? If you support X or Y (any but the candidate we’ve backed), you’re stupid or heartless, lazy, racist, irresponsible, unrealistic, uncaring, and on and on, brushing with one ugly stroke an entire swath of voters, never considering that they too thought carefully, intelligently, deeply before making a choice.
Partisan lines drawn, hearts hard, we fought with each other, battles no more apparent than online, the streams full of requests, even demands, that anyone voting for the opposing party ‘unfriend me.’
It’s time now to rise from the ashes, put petty grievances behind us, pull together, friend to friend, to remember the love we’ve shared. It’s a time for wonder, a time for joy, a time to cherish our friendships.
Great post Terri.
Political allegiances are just one of many ways we can be so divided. Something as trivial as supporting a rival football team can turn someone against you in the UK. It's really sad.
Where politics is concerned I think rivalry during the election is okay but not to the extent that friends turn against each other. In the aftermath the government and the people need to work together despite their loyalties. Good things can come from peaceful co-existence.
That's absolutely true, David! Working together is the only way forward.
Right on! We need to put petty differences aside sometimes and come together for the good of all. It's great that we each have different political views, but when election time is over we should stand unified – it's powerful!
Absolutely, I couldn't agree more!
True. Politics and religion are two things you should never argue about, I think. I try to run away from both! :)
Thank you so much for visiting, Vickie!
Really great post, Terri. I honestly hadn't thought about the effects that has on friendships, meaning the intentionally divisive politics of the past however-many years. I thought about it in terms of "society" in the more global/abstract sense, but not in terms of how it affects friends and the ability to emphasize with one another. It's funny, because one of the worst things you can do in the Buddhist community is be intentionally divisive…engage in behaviors that drive wedges between and foster misunderstandings and lack of empathy between people. When I read your post, I find myself thinking that yeah, that's really a very unethical thing to do, and one that really damages people and relationships. Thanks for your insight, as always!
Thank you so much for your comment, JC. I hope now the election is over we can move on and pull together for the next few years, whatever our allegiances!
So true and well said.
Thank you so much, Candy!
My sentiments, I too am glad the election is behind us and hope we can all move forward friendships intact. Great take on the prompt.
Thank you so much for visiting, Jean!