I keep processing and wanted to share some more thoughts. I really do feel like part of the solution is to listen to each other and get to know where people are coming from. I think this helps us to humanize rather than villainize. I also love to hear how people think, whether they agree with me or not.
And with that I’d like to preface my thoughts. You are free to choose to read this or to not. If you read with an open mind I think it can be constructive, but if you read just to criticize I think that’s probably a waste of emotional energy. If you comment I ask you to be kind. If you feel heated I ask you to take a step back and process before responding because attacking back and forth doesn’t get us anywhere. If you come off as rude and attacking I am just going to delete the comment. If you are into conspiracy theories you are probably not going to change my mind and I am probably not going to change your mind, so my guess is the dialogue won’t do anything productive. I realize we are biased, but we can look at biases and how different sides report and don’t need to label it as fake news. I like to look at legitimate news sources that have accountability and require multiple sources, etc. I don’t just trust any random person who says something on a YouTube video. So when people tell me I can’t think for myself and I can’t use a mainstream media source to be legitimate I find it hard to have a reasonable conversation. So while I am up for hearing other’s perspectives I’m not really up for all the political debate right now.
My thoughts are based on some things I’ve listened to lately that have been the most thought provoking to me. One is Brene Brown’s podcast episode on Unlocking Us, “Brene on Words, Actions, Dehumanization, and Accountability.” Another is on Jasmine Bradshaw’s podcast First Name Basis, “The Untold Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” And another is on Spencer Cox’s (Utah governor) inaugural address.
I want to say in no uncertain terms that I do not stand for the dehumanization Donald Trump has done. I have never voted for him, and in both instances it was more about who he was as a person. I feel like he has moderate policies and feel pretty moderate so I haven’t had huge problems with him policy wise. The policies I’m most critical of are the dehumanizing ones (separating families, Muslim ban). For me it’s been about his rhetoric. I’ve heard people excuse his words like they don’t matter or he just says what he thinks. But it is not okay. Brene gives some examples in the podcast episode on specific things he has said and how they have dehumanized if you’re interested in listening to that. I think a lot of what he has said to dehumanize people has led to the environment in which the Capitol riot could happen. These people probably already had their prejudice, but Trump created the environment for them to be emboldened. I know some people probably got caught up in the moment and not everyone there was a white supremicist. But there were enough people at the Capitol in gear from white supremecist and anti-Semitic groups that were there that you cannot deny that those groups have an adoration for Trump. I know some people are up in arms about free speech. But Donald Trump has plenty of access to speech and can call press conferences and news outlets even if he doesn’t have a Twitter account. I have a major in History and do want to relate some of this to Nazi Germany. Hitler actually had some really great ideas. He was a strong leader who gave people hope after Germany was in ruins after World War I. The highway system was one of Hitler’s ideas. And he had something that sounded a lot like the idea of fast Sunday for any of my friends from the Church of Jesus Christ. He helped Germans get on their feet, get food, etc. I don’t think all people who did things in Nazi Germany were awful people, there were a lot of every day citizens. Maybe they didn’t have the courage to stand up. Maybe they thought his words and anti-Semitic statements didn’t really matter and nothing was going to happen with that. Maybe they thought Hitler’s policies and strong leadership and turning the country around was enough good to turn a blind eye to his rhetoric. But we all know where this story goes. I know many people who voted for Trump and I love them dearly and they are wonderful people. But I do want to state my opinion loud and clear that words do matter. I hope no one else runs for president who speaks in the derogatory ways Trump has done (and if they do run I sure as hell hope they don’t get elected). If they do run we need accountability. We need to show in clear terms that it is not okay. We cannot vote someone who behaves that way into office just because that person aligns more with our policies. I’m not calling Trump Hitler right now. But I am saying that throughout his presidency hate crimes by these groups increased around his dehumanizing language. We cannot say that the way the president speaks really doesn’t matter in the scheme of things or doesn’t have real consequences. I’m calling out Trump right now because of the way everything has gone down. But I do think we need to tell all of our representatives in government that we won’t accept dehumanizing rhetoric about the other side. We have to stop the name calling and villainizing someone just because they vote differently than us. We should not vote for people who exhibit this behavior in their campaigns. I just feel very strongly to speak up about this. And I am not shaming anyone in this. Brene also talks about this in the episode and she’s the shame expert if you have more questions on this.
I also want to talk about love. Sometimes I feel like we use words broadly and disagree because it isn’t clear what all we are saying or mean. Martin Luther King Jr. said “the nonviolent resister not only refuses to shoot his opponent, but also refuses to hate him.” Non violence is for people who are strong and courageous. He talks about how to love your enemy through nonviolent resistance. Christ’s command to love your enemies has been on mind a lot lately and the power of that. And by talking about this, I think it’s okay to be angry at what happened and to take time to process that and not jump into love. But here are thoughts on love for when we all feel ready for that. King talks about three different Greek words of love. Agape is the kind of love of nonviolent resistance, the love we can look at through the lens of civil rights and standing up for justice. It is understanding and redeeming good will for all men. It is the love of God operating in the human heart. I think of charity in the scriptures. The individual seeks not his own good, but the good of his neighbor. He loves others for their sake, not his own. It springs from the need of the other person, not your own. Loving someone with no expectation of love in return. It is needed because you can be faced with hatred and oppression in return. You have to be so grounded in love and know the hateful person needs that love. King said the soul of white man is scared because of prejudice, insecurities, and fear. Agape is love in action, love seeking to preserve and create unity. Jesus and MLK aren’t encouraging us to accept abuse. It is holding people accountable for their words and actions. Exposing the shamefulness in racism and other injustices and the way they function in our communities is showing up in love. It’s calling people in so they can learn and change. Love people by holding them accountable and creating true community. Love people in spite of their oppression and hatred of you. We are called to be better, rise up, and be inclusive. (These ideas are from the First Name Basis episode). I just loved this perspective. We don’t need to throw out accountability to show up in love. Jesus can heal our hearts and help us to love others. And I think people really need love and the way people change is through love.
Spencer Cox said “Hateful rhetoric dominates our political discourse. We are facing a crisis of empathy, a scourge of contempt. Very little feels united about the United States today. Indeed, it appears that men and women’s hearts are failing them... Let me be clear, conflict and passionate debate around ideas can and is healthy. But contempt and contention will rot the souls of our nation and our people. And this division isn’t just ugly or unfortunate, it is dangerous.” He quotes one expert as saying that our democracy is on target to fail because there is no democracy when you drain all trust in the system. He says the good news is it’s not too late to fix this. He quotes Judge Thomas Griffiths, “If the Constitution of the United States as we know it is to survive, then we must inculcate the virtue of civic charity. We must seek to understand one another. To treat each other not as enemies, but as friends and to secure justice for all without daemonizing and ostracizing those with whom we disagree.” Cox says “This way is distinctly American.” He quotes another saying “The heroes of America are the heroes of unity. Our political system is designed for vigorous disagreement, it is not designed for irreconcilable contempt. Such contempt loosens the ties of citizenship and undermines the idea of patriotism.” Cox says this is a theme that echoes through time. Thomas Jefferson said “Let us unite with one heart and one mind. Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things.” Abraham Lincoln said “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.” Martin Luther King, Jr. said “The words of the text to love our enemies glitter in our eyes with a new urgency. Far from being the pious injunction from a utopian dreamer, this command is an absolute necessity for the survival of our civilization. Yes it is love that will save our world and our civilization, yes it is love even for our enemies.” I just really enjoyed all these thoughts on love and they give me lots to think on. Jesus asks a lot of us and he is the One who can help us if we ask. It is His love. Impossible to find without His help. I want to think more on how we can have conflict and passionate debate over ideas without having that contempt and contention. I think sometimes we fear the conflict, but it’s not the conflict that’s harmful, but the contempt. I do think love is the way forward, but we can’t confuse love with having no conflict, no accountability, and not doing the hard work to get to unity.
Really all of these are great listens, I just highlighted parts from each of them. I’d love to hear your thoughts on love and moving forward (which I don’t think we need to rush...we can mourn and take time right now.) and all these ideas and your ideas.
