When Good People See Different Things: A Letter About  Truth, Compassion, and Finding Our Way Home

“The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.” – Proverbs 18:15

My friend Jennie—and she IS my friend, make no mistake about that—posted something on Facebook that’s been weighing heavy on her heart. She’s hurting. She’s confused. She’s watching the same news I’m watching, walking the same American soil I’m walking, breathing the same Georgia air I’m breathing, yet somehow we’re seeing two completely different movies playing out before our eyes.

I read Jennie’s post twice—slowly. Not because I didn’t understand her words, but because I recognized her heart. I’ve got friends like Jennie. You probably do too. Good people. Patriotic people. The kind who grew up saying the Pledge like it meant something—because it did. The kind who didn’t learn love of country from a cable news host; they learned it from a teacher, a grandparent, a folded flag, a hymn, or a hard-working mama who told you to stand up straight when the anthem plays.

So when Jennie says, “I’m not ok,” I believe her.

And here’s what else I believe: a whole lot of Americans on the other side of her political conclusions are saying the same thing—just with different examples, different fears, and a different set of headlines running on a loop in their minds.

Which brings me to the problem we don’t talk about enough: the modern news business—left, right, and everything in between—has learned how to turn honest fear into profitable anger.

The Media’s Favorite Recipe: Division Pie (Serves Millions, Satisfies None)

Here’s what I’ve come to understand about our modern news media, and friends, this ain’t just about one network or another—it’s about the whole cotton-picking industry: They’ve figured out that division pays better than unity ever could.

Think about it like this: If I told you I made a pot of gumbo today and it turned out pretty good, you might smile and move on with your day. But if I told you my gumbo caused a fistfight at the church potluck and three people ended up in the hospital, well now, you’re gonna stop scrolling and pay attention, aren’t you?

The model is simple:

1. Find a shocking story (or frame an ordinary one to feel shocking).  

2. Pick a villain fast—because waiting for facts doesn’t trend.  

3. Repeat the most emotional version of the story until your audience is good and wound up.  

4. Sell ads at a premium because you’ve got “engagement.”  

The media—and I’m talking about ALL of them, from the left-leaning to the right-leaning and everyone in between—they’ve become carnival barkers selling tickets to the outrage show. They don’t care if we’re tearing each other apart, as long as we’re tuning in.

They take a complicated situation with multiple angles, strip away all the nuance, season it with inflammatory language, and serve it up hot before anyone has time to think critically about what they’re actually consuming.

And good people like Jennie? They’re being fed a steady diet of fear and anger, and they don’t even realize the meal they’re being served has been prepared specifically to make them feel exactly the way they’re feeling.

This is how good people get discipled by headlines instead of by Scripture, by community, by patient thinking, and by the plain old virtue of waiting until we know what happened.

Empathy, Sympathy, and the Power of Compassion

Jennie calls for empathy, and I’m not here to mock that—Lord knows we need tender hearts in a hard time.

But I want to offer a small, important distinction:

– Empathy says, “I feel what you feel.”  

– Sympathy says, “I’m sorry you’re hurting.”  

– Compassion says, “You matter, and I will do what good I can.”

Empathy can be a powerful bridge, but it can also flood the engine if all we ever do is absorb the emotion of every outrage cycle. Sympathy can slide into pity if we aren’t careful. But compassion—real, steady, Christian compassion—rests on something sturdier than a mood. Compassion is built on value.

You see, compassion isn’t just feeling someone’s pain. It’s recognizing their inherent worth and choosing to help them anyway. As Christians, we’ve got a compelling reason for this: Every single person we meet—regardless of their politics, their past, or their perspective—is made in the image of God.

That cashier Jennie mentioned at the grocery store? Made in God’s image.

Those federal agents she’s concerned about? Made in God’s image.

The immigrants she’s worried about? Made in God’s image.

You, me, Jennie, the folks we agree with, and the folks who make our blood pressure rise like bread dough in a warm kitchen? All made in God’s image.

When we operate from compassion instead of just empathy, we can help others without being consumed by their pain. We can speak truth without being drowned by emotion. We can disagree without demonizing.

This is the message we can’t stop teaching our children: People aren’t valuable because they agree with you. They’re valuable because God made them.

Let’s Talk About What Actually Happened

Now, I’m gonna address some specific things Jennie mentioned, and I’m doing this with love and respect, because she deserves that, and so does the truth.

The Fulton County FBI Raid

Seeing the FBI raid on the Fulton County election headquarters has folks feeling all kinds of ways. Some are worried about chain of command. Some are worried about the federal government getting private information. Some are worried this is all political theater.

But here’s the thing: The Fulton County election officials have been accused—with considerable evidence—of not maintaining proper chain of custody for election records. They made mistakes. Significant ones.

Now, doesn’t the federal government already have our Social Security numbers? Our tax records? Our everything-else records? The notion that they’re suddenly going to misuse Fulton County election data seems a bit like worrying about a mosquito when there’s an elephant in the room.

And here’s the million-dollar question: If Fulton County and Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger had nothing to hide, wouldn’t the simplest solution have been to just release the records? Transparency cures a whole lot of suspicion, folks.

When you’ve got nothing to hide, you don’t act like you’re hiding something. And when the majority of voters in this country are questioning the integrity of an election process, the loving, compassionate, RIGHT thing to do is to open the books and prove them wrong.

Sunlight, as they say, is the best disinfectant.

Those “Executions in Broad Daylight”

Now this one—this one right here—is where the media’s manipulation really shows its ugly face.

Jennie says two people were “executed in broad daylight” by federal agents. That’s a serious accusation. Execution implies murder. Cold-blooded, premeditated killing of innocent people.

But is that what actually happened?

We’ve since learned that both individuals involved had prior interactions with law enforcement where they refused to comply with lawful orders. They weren’t just peaceful protesters minding their own business. They were active disruptors who had demonstrated a pattern of defying authority.

Now, I wasn’t there. Neither was Jennie. Neither were most of the people sharing those videos and making pronouncements about what they show.

But here’s what I know: Those federal law enforcement officers went through extensive training. They don’t wake up in the morning hoping to shoot someone. They’re not living out video game fantasies. They’re men and women trying to do an incredibly difficult job in an increasingly hostile environment where half the country hates them before they even put on their uniform.

When a law enforcement officer—federal, state, or local—gives you a lawful order, you comply. Period. End of sentence. That’s not fascism; that’s civilization. That’s the social contract that keeps us from descending into chaos.

If you resist, if you escalate, if you make yourself a threat—perceived or real—you are inviting consequences. And sometimes, tragically, those consequences are severe.

Could things have been handled differently? Maybe. I wasn’t there, and neither were the Monday-morning quarterbacks dissecting every frame of video from the comfort of their couches.

To call it an “execution”? To claim federal agents are gleefully gunning down innocent Americans? That’s not just wrong—it’s dangerous rhetoric that undermines the very institutions we need to maintain order and justice.

I refuse to let a profit-driven outrage machine rush me into certainty before the facts are in—because once you turn your neighbor into a monster, it’s real hard to turn them back into a human being.

The Rule of Law: It’s Not Selective

Here’s something that seems to have gotten lost in all the noise: The rule of law applies to everyone, or it applies to no one.

If we’re going to demand that law enforcement officers be held accountable for their actions—and we should—then we also need to demand that citizens comply with lawful orders.

If we’re going to insist on transparency from government agencies—and we should—then we need to insist on it from ALL government agencies, not just the ones investigating people we like.

If we’re going to cry out against injustice—and we should—then we need to make sure we’re crying out against actual injustice, not just things that make us uncomfortable or challenge our preferred narrative.

The Spiritual Battle We’re Really Fighting

There IS a spiritual battle happening. I believe we’re in a spiritual war. Scripture doesn’t whisper about it; it states it plainly:

Saint Paul told us in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

But here’s where I think we differ: The enemy isn’t necessarily the people on the other side of the political aisle. The enemy is the one who wants us divided. The enemy is the one who whispers lies in our ears and makes us see our neighbors as threats instead of fellow image-bearers of God.

The media—and I’ll say it again, ALL of the media—has become a tool of that division. They’re not sitting around in evil lairs plotting our destruction, but they’ve created a system that profits from our pain and thrives on our outrage.

And we keep feeding it. We keep clicking. We keep sharing. We keep assuming the worst about each other.

The Election That Shook the Snow Globe

The 2024 election results spoke pretty clearly: The majority of American voters rejected the narrative they’d been fed for years.

The polls said one thing. The media said one thing. The “experts” said one thing.

And then the people voted, and they said something completely different.

That should tell us something about how disconnected the media has become from regular Americans. They were so busy telling us what to think that they forgot to listen to what we were actually thinking.

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz didn’t lose because of a grand conspiracy. They lost because the majority of voters looked at the direction the country was heading and said, “No thank you. We’d like to try something different.”

That’s not fascism. That’s not the end of democracy. That’s democracy working exactly as it’s supposed to.ttle We’re Really Fighting

There IS a spiritual battle happening. I believe we’re in a spiritual war. Scripture doesn’t whisper about it; it states it plainly:

Saint Paul told us in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

But here’s where I think we differ: The enemy isn’t necessarily the people on the other side of the political aisle. The enemy is the one who wants us divided. The enemy is the one who whispers lies in our ears and makes us see our neighbors as threats instead of fellow image-bearers of God.

The media—and I’ll say it again, ALL of the media—has become a tool of that division. They’re not sitting around in evil lairs plotting our destruction, but they’ve created a system that profits from our pain and thrives on our outrage.

And we keep feeding it. We keep clicking. We keep sharing. We keep assuming the worst about each other.

Different Lenses, Same Country

Jennie and I are looking at the same events through different lenses. She sees government overreach and brutality. I see the rule of law being enforced and institutions being held accountable.

She sees innocent victims. I see individuals who made choices that had consequences.

She sees a country falling apart. I see a country correcting course.

Neither of us is stupid. Neither of us is evil. Neither of us hates America.

We just have different perspectives, shaped by different information sources, different life experiences, and different fundamental beliefs about the role of government and the nature of the problems we’re facing.

And you know what? That’s okay.

It’s okay to disagree. It’s okay to see things differently. It’s okay to have passionate conversations about these things.

What’s NOT okay is assuming that everyone who disagrees with us is either ignorant or malicious. What’s NOT okay is letting the media manipulate us into hating each other. What’s NOT okay is abandoning compassion in favor of contempt.

Jennie, if you ever read this, I want you to know something: I don’t doubt your sincerity. I don’t doubt your love of country. And I don’t think your desire for empathy is weakness.

But I’m going to ask something in return, as gently as I can:

Please have empathy—or at least compassion—for the majority of voters who see things differently than you do.

Not because they’re all right. Not because you’re all wrong. But because if we can’t grant each other basic human dignity, then we’re letting the loudest voices in America (and often the least honest) drive the whole bus.

What We Can Do (That Actually Helps)  

1. Pray before you post. If that sounds old-fashioned, good. Some things oughta stay old-fashioned.  

2. Wait for facts, not vibes. The truth can handle a 48-hour delay.  

3. Demand accountability without dehumanizing. Justice and mercy are not enemies.  

4. Talk to a real person in your real life. Not an avatar. Not a strawman. A neighbor.  

5. Teach your kids this one sentence: “Everybody has worth because God made them that way.”  

A Challenge for All of Us

I’m gonna ask the same thing of everyone reading this, whether you agree with Jennie or agree with me:

Exercise some empathy for the people on the other side.

If you’re worried about government overreach, have some empathy for the people who are worried about lawlessness and chaos.

If you’re concerned about the rule of law, have some empathy for the people who are worried about authoritarianism and abuse of power.

If you think the media is lying to divide us, have some empathy for the people who are genuinely scared because that’s what their trusted news sources have told them to feel.

And for the love of all that’s holy, turn off the news occasionally.

Step away from social media. Go outside. Talk to your neighbors. Pet a dog. Eat some gumbo. (Seriously, gumbo helps everything.)

The world is not ending. The sky is not falling. America has been through worse than this and survived.

We’ve survived a civil war. We’ve survived world wars. We’ve survived recessions, depressions, scandals, and crises of every imaginable kind.

We’ll survive this too.

But we’ll survive it better if we do it together, with compassion for each other and a commitment to truth over tribal loyalty.

The Way Forward

So here’s what I’m proposing:

1. Question your sources. Not just the ones you disagree with—ALL of them. Ask yourself: “Who benefits from me believing this? Who profits from my outrage? What might I be missing?”

2. Seek primary sources. Don’t just read what someone says about an event. When possible, look at the actual documents, the actual videos, the actual statements. Context matters.

3. Assume good faith. Start from the position that the people you disagree with are trying their best to do what they think is right. You’ll be wrong sometimes, but you’ll be right more often than if you assume everyone’s evil.

4. Practice compassion. Remember that every person you encounter—even the ones who make you furious—is made in God’s image and has inherent worth.

5. Stand for truth. But hold that truth with humility, recognizing that your understanding might be incomplete and that wisdom often comes from unexpected places.

6. Pray. For your enemies. For your leaders. For your neighbors. For the person who posted something that made your blood boil. Prayer changes things, starting with the person doing the praying.

A Final Word for Jennie (and Everyone Else)

Jennie, I know you’re hurting. I know you’re scared. I know the world feels upside down right now.

But please hear me on this: You’re being manipulated.

Not because you’re stupid or gullible, but because there are very sophisticated people who have spent billions of dollars figuring out how to push your emotional buttons to get the response they want.

They know that fear drives clicks. They know that outrage drives shares. They know that if they can keep you angry and scared, you’ll keep coming back for more.

And they don’t care that it’s tearing you apart inside. They don’t care that it’s destroying your peace. They don’t care that it’s fracturing relationships and communities.

They just care about the ratings.

Please, for your own sake and for the sake of everyone who loves you, step back from the fire. Question what you’re being told. Seek out different perspectives. Look for primary sources instead of interpretations.

And remember that the people you disagree with—they’re not your enemy. They’re your fellow Americans. They’re your neighbors. They’re children of God, just like you.

We can disagree without being disagreeable. We can stand for what we believe without standing on each other. We can fight for truth without fighting each other.

That’s my hope for all of us.

That’s my prayer for this beautiful, complicated, frustrating, wonderful country.

And that’s my reminder to myself and everyone else that compassion—real, biblical, God-honoring compassion—is always the answer.

Even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.

—

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” – Romans 12:18

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a pot of gumbo calling my name. Because no matter how crazy the world gets, some things remain constant: God is good, family is everything, and gumbo can heal a multitude of wounds.

Y’all take care of each other out there.

With compassion and conviction,

Dean Burnette  

Southern Fried Thoughts