The Time For Deleting Has Passed

Most of the time when a "political/religious" email that I don't necessarily agree with is forwarded to me I simply hit "delete." However, I have come to understand that this is a mild form of avoidance and maybe even, elitism.
Somewhere in my mind I entertain the thought that I am far too enlightened for this type of thing and that he/she who sent it simply hasn't "arrived." Recently, though, I have come to understand that the sender was probably thinking the same thing as he/she hit the forward button.
So today when this email came, one that suggests some people love the soldiers and some don't and that the defining feature of either group would be based on our acceptance or rejection of crosses in cemeteries....I realized it is wrong to hit delete.
We have got to start talking about these things. An email is easy. A conversation is not. Thanks to the internet, we are a nation divided by spam.
So I hammered out a reply and have pasted it below. I am not going to let up on this kind of thing. This is my crusade. We can not hide behind our computer screens, erroneously harboring disdain for those who do not think like we do. It is time to talk!

Here are my thoughts...
This is a spam email and filled with half-truths according to the verification sites. I pastor a church filled with chaplains from all military backgrounds including the Navy and again, this is not true. What they are not allowed to do is proselytize non-Christian service men and women (and non-Christian chaplains are bound by the same guidelines).
So why is it going around? Why might there be something "not so good" about it?
In my opinion, it is a lie developed to create divisiveness within God's America and world.
Some churches don't allow symbols to be used (ie crosses, statues, paintings) because we humans tend to place more importance on those than on what they represent...have you heard the word "idol"? That's what it means.
Jesus never intended for us to be warring with one another over him, his cross, or gravestones. He said "let the dead bury the dead." In essence..."get with the living, there's work to do!"
We Americans are allowing what divides us to take leadership over what unites us. We are trusting in the idea of America (and what we think we've lost?) more than in the God of America. And emails like this one emphasize that. They are covert "hate mail." They single someone out to be the enemy. And Jesus said "love you enemies" plain and simple.
We must begin to rebuild ourselves as a nation under God and that means do what God said to do! Don't talk about it, war about it, forward emails about it. Do it!
Satan is innovative and clever and uses the words of God to trick, convince, and deceive. If he wants to take our country down, wouldn't the best way be to use God in a way that divides us from within?
Begin talking with those who are different from you. Have dinner parties, coffee dates, work days. Listen and share and begin to understand why they are thinking the way they are. Let them know the same about you....lovingly. I promise, neither of you will walk away the same.
Most of us will share God's Kingdom together after death. What if we decided to begin that Kingdom and that sharing now...in love, rather than indulge our earthly loyalties at the cost of our eternal ones. God is love. And when we love, we are like Him.

And no, I don't want to be dropped from your "forward list." I read your idea. You read mine. And at the end of the day let's pray for one another in love and celebrate that as different as we might be....we are MORE than conquerors, we are lovers.