Thoughts on November 17
This morning, I heard someone compare the moment we’re living to the experience of a group of kids on the playground. There’s a disagreement over which game to play. Two kids argue the merits of their selection. They might be able to find a compromise, but soon a circle of fellow students has surrounded them. And then the chanting begins.
First a whisper.
Fight. Fight. Fight.
With repetition the passion in the crowd grows and the volume increases until it is deafening.
Fight! Fight! Fight!
And so they do.
We live in a time when amplified voices urge us toward extremes in our positions and our practices. They scream through screens —
Fight! Fight! Fight!
Recent events demonstrate how this noise is no longer restricted to the virtual realm (if it ever was). Actual threats and acts of violence that began with online name calling.
Fight! Fight! Fight!
I’m not sure exactly how we turn down the temperature, but I am convinced we must. 160 years ago this Sunday, on a field stained with the blood of civil war, President Lincoln asked the question that we might also ask — can our union long endure?
The answer, I’m convinced, depends on our capacity to convene in ways that encourage deep listening and measured speech. To begin with a basic understanding of our common humanity.
Last weekend, I showed our sons the speeches of the two presidential candidates on the night of the 2008 election. The tone and tenor of their words was deeply refreshing. Both spoke of their hope and their belief in the bright days still ahead. Both honored the extraordinary progress represented by that election, built on the courageous work of generations past. Perhaps most strikingly, both spoke of the opposing candidate with words of genuine affection and specific praise.
For a moment, it felt like we were watching a feel-good film or dispatches from a distant planet. Not so. This was us. Not that long ago.
Despite all evidence to the contrary, it could be us again.
It’s time to lift up different voices and silence the ones that only want (and profit from) a fight.
When I was a kid we had two neighbors who were physically strong and occasionally adversarial. Fights were not uncommon. I remember one in particular. We were playing basketball on the dirt “court” in my backyard. The goal was a pice of plywood nailed to the back of a storage shed, so hockey-style checks were a defensive option. That’s what happened, and soon the two of them were in an all-out fistfight. It lasted a few minutes. And then, for some reason, I started to laugh out loud. I can’t remember why, but I do remember that both combatants looked up at me with confusion. And then, they began to laugh. One reached down and lifted the other off the ground. The game continued.
There’s a vision. Less fighting. More laughter. And, of course, more basketball.