One winter, I had a part-time position in a chocolate and ice cream shop. During my first day on the job, a coworker approached me and asked me, quite pointedly and aggressively, about my political affiliation.

I was stunned into speechlessness. We hadn’t even introduced ourselves yet, and my first thought was to respond with something like, “Hi, I’m Cher. I’m new here.” But as I collected my thoughts, I recalled something Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, wrote in response to the question, “What are your politics?” She said, “I have none, in reality, other than to help support a righteous government; to love God supremely, and my neighbor as myself” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 276). 

I’ve always appreciated those ideas, and that inspired my response. I shared that what seemed most important to me was to follow the Golden Rule, treating people the way I’d like to be treated. But the tone of the conversation felt fearful and hostile. I felt like I was under attack.