We’ve become so accustomed to taking sides without reason, to believing without evidence, to judgment without clarity, that I think maybe there’s some value in a little history lesson. I hope you have time to read it. It’s about the best of human nature.

World War One (WWI) was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history. With some 22 million deaths linked directly to the war, some nine million of them due to combat that was more often than not hand to hand, it was perhaps the bluntest modern example of humanity abandoned

WWI saw the introduction of chemical weapons, of air warfare that devastated civilians as well as combatants, of soldiers turned against one another not for honor or glory or defending that which they believed in but for orders, for decisions they never made, and may never have.

It was one of the bloodiest battles in history, “the war to end all wars” as it was called at the time, so when Christmas of 1914 came to pass, it was far from anyone’s mind that acts of anything other than brutality would be on hand. But then a wonderful thing happened.

On Christmas of 1914, all along the western front, the soldiers on the front lines declared an unofficial truce, defying orders from the highest ranks. They set down their weapons, put aside their differences, and met one another face to face in the spirit of camaraderie.

For that one day, there were no battle lines drawn. Gifts were exchanged. Football games were played. And it no longer was us versus them. It was just us. And in that moment, humanity triumphed over incivility. There were even hugs. Yes, hugs.

Between the mustard gas and the bayonets, the animosity must have been beyond belief, not to mention the unspeakable damage from air cover on both sides. But on Christmas, in 1914, something better prevailed.

It’s easy to criticize someone you don’t know, to judge circumstances you don’t know, even to make up your mind about someone you do know based on something someone else said.

But give them a chance to tell you their truth. Give them a chance to tell you their story. Walk away from your orders if only for one day and take someone in your hands and believe them when they tell you who they really are.

We may have our marching orders, we may have the loud voices on the television telling us what to think, but if you can put that all aside we are truly all one as humans. You doing that is the only hope we have.

And remember that Christmas truce of 1914. Imagine mustard gas raining down, bombs destroying your neighborhood, your whole city, your way of life.

Remember everything that you value and imagine it being taken away in a heartbeat. We have a limited time here. Make it worth it. Imagine putting it all aside and being human. And just do it.