I get so frustrated with Bush's unwillingness to talk with other nations that are different than us, especially when our leader claims to be a Christian. The whole mindset of "I won't talk to you until you change" seems to be completely contrary to the Gospel.
This came up this week when Bush spoke at the Council of the Americas. In the speech he stated:
"Until there is a change of heart, and a change of compassion and a change of how the Cuban government treats its people, there is no change at all...The regime has made empty gestures at reform ... If Cuba wants to join the community of civilized nations, then Cuban rulers must begin a process of peaceful and democratic change and the first step must be the release of all political prisoners."
He has laid forth that Cuba must take a step in the direction he wants them to take before he will talk to them. It kind of goes back to the whole Hannity Gospel in which people should not associate with those people who have different opinions than them on "important" issues. If they are not like us, we will not talk associate with them or talk with them. I just do not understand it. I want to be able to view things from both sides, but being unwilling to talk to someone who might be different seems completely foreign to me.
Talking does not hurt anything. Cuba is a legitimate nation whether we recognize them or not. Through talking we can possibly bring change to both groups that will benefit a shared interest rather than living in isolation from one another despite living so close to one another. It just does not seem to be the way a Christian should interact with their neighbor.
On a personal level, if we have problems with a person, those problems will always be there unless we talk them through. Problems just do not go away when we refuse to talk. It is not beneficial for both parties involved to say that I will not talk to you unless you change. People need to sit down and iron out their differences. It's the only way to have a healthy relationships, both with our spouses and with other nations.
