Re-humanization

Its been discussed and written about ad-nauseum, but so often forgotten. Our "enemies" are people too. In conflicts of all types, the idea is to de-humanize your adversary, so as to make it easier to make their defeat more palletable. Americans today must recognize and respect the humanity of everyone. We don't have to like them. We don't have to agree with them. But we must treat them with dignity and respect. And, as a Christian, I must love them. We live in a polarized country and a polarized world. Demonization doesn't help anyone but besides the media & the war-mongers.

I saw a quote from Kerry Patterson (of Crucial Conversations fame) in an email this week:

I learned that if I put grandpa’s fedora on a stranger—instantly transforming him or her into a person I loved dearly—the stranger became someone worthy of my care and attention. Putting a face on the faceless masses, assigning a name to a crime or war victim, thinking of the people who cause you grief —thinking of them as real people with children of their own—well, this humanizing act has a dramatic impact on how you first think about and then treat them.

Who do you need to re-humanize?