A Dog And A Cough Drop

Each day, in the late afternoon, I have a cup of tea.
It is a time to sit and put my feet up.
It is a time that falls after the busyness of the morning and before I prepare dinner.
During this election cycle, I found myself watching the news as I had my tea.

Many days, that was not a wise thing to do.
The news and the political commercials were antithetical to my peaceful cup of tea.
I would often turn the news off but the damage was already done.
Until one day right before the election.

All of the angry commercials had become ugly white noise to me.
Then I saw the dog.
I saw a beautiful Golden Retriever on a leash.
The leash was attached to the hand of a woman.

The commercial was a social experiment.
The woman walked around at each major candidate’s rally with a “lost” dog.
At each rally, she wore a T-shirt promoting the opposite candidate.
The woman asked the people in line to help her find the dog’s owner.

At first, she received a cold reception; no one was warm and welcoming.
However, after a while the people with opposing political viewpoints agreed on something.
They agreed on their love of dogs.
They were able to bond around the one thing that brought them together, not pulled them apart.

Craig Neely, the vice president of marketing for Mars Petcare, which owns Pedigree, told CNNMoney the ad was created, filmed, and released within the last two weeks.

“As the election approached, it became evident to us that our country is very much divided,” Neely said. “Our intent with this film wasn’t to be political. We really hoped that we could simply play a small role in reminding people that we are more alike than we are different.”

Neely said the ad follows others in the company’s Feed the Good campaign, which features stories about how dogs “bring out the good” in people.

The television spot will air on CNN and Fox on Monday during daytime coverage and on election day during the afternoon and late prime time. It also was viewed nearly 4 million times on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter by Monday afternoon.
(CNNMoney (New York) November 7, 2016)

I was in line to vote.
The lines were quite long for our small town.
I had about a 30 minute wait.
The A-L line that I was in was much shorter than the M-Z line.

People were talking to each other.
Others just waited patiently.
There were many familiar faces.
It was lunchtime, so there was a need for people to vote and leave immediately afterwards.

A man was standing behind me and he was coughing.
I could hear him talk to his wife between coughs.
I knew that he would have preferred to be home but this election was too important.
I felt bad that his cough continued as he waited in line.

I can relate.
Once a year, I get a bad cold that turns into a cough.
The kind of cough that keeps you up at night.
The kind of cough that once you start you know you will be coughing for a while.

I always carry a few menthol cough drops with me.
I decided to offer one to the man.
Would you like one of these? I asked.
No thank you, he said, I have some in my pocket.

His wife spoke up.
Maybe her cough drop might help you, she suggested.
It’s menthol, I informed him.
I get a cough like that once a year, I added.

I’m sorry if my cough bothered you, he said.
Then I realized that in offering the cough drop, the man thought his cough annoyed me.
No, it doesn’t bother me but I know it bothers you, I said with a smile.
It’s so hard to cough in a public place, feeling helpless and unable to stop, I said.

He knew that I was being sincere.
More importantly, his wife knew that I was being sincere.
He unraveled the two ends of the cough drop and put it in his mouth.
Within minutes, his coughing stopped.

He had a beard down to the middle of his chest.
He had a pleasant face and kind eyes.
I thought that with a red suit, black boots, and a little stuffing, he would look like Santa.
I turned back towards the front of the line and smiled.

I thought of the dog in the commercial.
I thought about the people that put aside their differences for a moment.
When the differences are laid down, it was much easier to focus on what brings you together.
In this line, it was a cough drop.

Neither one of us had any idea who we were voting for in this election.
It didn’t matter.
He had a cough.
I had a cough drop.

As prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:1-6)

The theme of the commercial can be read across the bottom of the screen.
It shows us that even a country divided by party lines can be united by man’s best friend.
We can go one step further.
We, who are in Christ, know only in Him is there true unity.

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God ad Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (Romans 15:5-7)

A dog and a cough drop brought people together.
Imagine how much more the Lord Jesus can unify.
Only in Him can we lay aside our differences.
Only in Him can we truly be one.