Tip of My Iceberg

I will not hold back–I’m not a fan and never will be.

I’m deeply offended by their lack of respect for those who aren’t like them. Their lack of tolerance for other’s lifestyles is unacceptable. They make assumptions that they can do as they please without consequences to them. They are arrogant, disrespectful, and demanding. I would be delighted to never have to deal with them again.

I’m not talking about politicians.

I’m referring to our local sandhill cranes.

These birds are found all over North America, but the ones living in Florida stay here year-round. 

Whoopee.

They’re huge and can be quite intimidating. 

They’ve been digging up our flower bed and lawn. They’re nature’s foodies, omnivores that have huge appetites. They’re big and loud and more than a little arrogant. We’ve had them run into our back door as they see their reflection as well as peck at our rearview mirrors as they notice a familiar image staring back at them.

They’re not all bad, though that is hard for me to admit. They are monogamous; they mate for life and stay together year-round. They’re concerned parents; hatched chicks stay with them up to ten months.

They do have an elegance about them; they dance with wings spread and make their loud call during mating season and in response to each other. 

Their squawks and flapping make them appear like husbands and wives going at each other.

These birds rub me the wrong way. Their destructive habits anger me. Yet, I can do nothing about them.

They’re protected by law.

The truth is, they are birds. How they live and what they do is a natural part of what they are. They live by instinct and operate as they always have.

It doesn’t mean I have to like them.

There are people I disagree with, and as a result, I don’t appreciate them. I don’t value what they value, and I oppose how they choose to do life.

That doesn’t give me the freedom to disrespect them or minimize their worth as people.

As a nation, a culture, humanity, we’ve lost the value of respect and the wonder of seeing the uniqueness in others. We’ve chosen an attitude of disregard–the cancel culture–where disagreement means someone isn’t worthy of being heard.

God has given us each a unique story for a purpose. If we were all the same, what would we be able to learn from one another? How would we recognize and appreciate what’s different and move toward progress and growth?

Put it in perspective. If all birds were sandhill cranes, there would be no crops, no beautiful flowers, no relief from the loud squawks. Life as we know it would be intolerable. 

God has made a great variety of birds–just as He’s made a great variety of people, so we may value the diversity of thought and appreciate what each has to offer. Even if I don’t enjoy how they choose to live, I can acknowledge that they act as they were created to act.

Pause for a moment to observe what can be seen. The beauty of different. 

It might grow your respect for variety.