Lea Salonga believes mutual respect is possible despite political divide

Image: Facebook/@MsLeaSalonga

The advent of “unpopular opinions” over social media the past week saw a lot of  Twitter users offering seemingly uncommon and eccentric sentiments over manifold things — from Daniel Padilla being the best actor in his generation and raisins belonging (or not) in embutido, to “Avengers: Infinity War” being sakto lang.

Two days ago, in June 4, Lea Salonga used her influence on social media to speak about human decency and kindness. It’s a relevant point of topic, if not unpopular, as these days, spreading hate and vitriol seems to be the popular way of going about things, with hotheadedness and malice pervading conversations, on and off social media, of politics, the state of the nation, and even the latest celebrity buzz.

“I want to believe that at the end of the day, human decency and kindness will prevail,” wrote Salonga. “I want to have faith that intelligent discourse (sans ad hominem attacks) is possible, folks passionately and vigorously arguing their points without hurling insults or making threats.”

Salonga did not drop any names specifically, speaking with generality about how respect and empathy is possible regardless which side of the political divide one belongs to.

“In my heart, I know that mutual respect is possible, no matter on which side of the political divide you’re standing, able to understand and empathize, even if you don’t agree.”

Salonga also added that this conflict must be due to the many years of the seven deadly signs coming to life. “Take a good, hard look; you’ll see them all.”

In the end, Salonga called for people to leave their “echo chambers” to truly understand what is really happening around them: “What we all need to do is exit our bubbles and echo chambers, and reach out to see and fully comprehend what’s going on in the world.”

Salonga pointed out, “I may not see this happen in my lifetime, but I pray that someday, this will happen.” JB

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