I know it shouldn’t shock me anymore, but I still have trouble grasping the depths to which our “normal” everyday political discussions and commentary have sunk. Name-calling, assumptions of bad character, violence, and rage have replaced reasoned debate, logical thought, and careful listening. It may be a lost cause, but my hope is that I will be able to pass on to my kids some foundations for peaceful and respectful disagreement – the kind that aims to both understand and inform, to learn and to share. The kind that hangs on to personal values and convictions, but that also doesn’t assume the worst of anyone who may have different values or convictions. The kind that can collaborate, debate, and problem-solve without resorting to insults or meanness.
Is it a pipe-dream? Maybe. But this simple OTHER acronym is my attempt at summarizing a few basic and essential paving stones towards maintaining respectful political dialogue. If you find it at all useful, there’s also a printable download of these principles available for free at the bottom of the page!
1. Ownership
The root of our problems isn’t in liberals, Republicans, Muslims, German Jews, medieval English Catholics, illegal immigrants in the U.S., or any other ethnicity/religion/people group. The root of the problem is in human hearts. It doesn’t do any good to pin the blame on an entire group of people and then go after them. That only increases dislike in our own hearts and gives us permission to treat anyone in that group with suspicion or even hatred and injustice (as evidenced by crusades, wars, persecutions, and genocides throughout human history). Instead, we treat each person as an individual, uniquely created by God – and we hold individuals accountable for their personal offenses. In the same way, we take responsibility for our own personal issues and failings. Romans 3:23 reminds us, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
2. Teamwork
It takes nuance, a variety of people and perspectives working together, and creativity on lots of levels to try to tackle big problems – there is no one quick fix. Anyone who tries to tell us that their solution is the ONLY solution (and that everyone else with differing opinions is totally wrong) is probably missing part of the puzzle – and is going to have a hard time creating a lasting solution. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.” We have to be able to work together with people who have different perspectives – not just demonize or caricaturize them without really listening to them. We can learn a lot from people from different socio-economic, ethnic, gender, cultural, and religious backgrounds.
3. Humility
We don’t shut our eyes to the possibility that we (and our heroes) might sometimes be wrong. We are human, and humans make mistakes! So when someone points out something wrong that we (or someone we voted for) have done, we don’t try to justify it or change the subject by pointing out something wrong that they (or someone they voted for) did. We own up to our own wrongdoings and those of our affiliations. After all, it takes honesty about our downfalls to make any kind of progress forward. 1 John 1:8-9 says, “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” It’s very unlikely that any one of us or our political “allies” has everything figured out perfectly. We need to have enough honesty – and humility – to admit this.
4. Enemies
Just because someone has a different opinion from ours does not mean they have bad intentions. Different opinions can come from varied life experiences. Sometimes we want the same – or very close to the same – thing, but have different perspectives on how to reach that goal. And sometimes we place a higher priority on opposing values. None of those things automatically makes someone else our “enemy”.
In political arenas today, we very often hear that so-and-so is trying to destroy America, that they hate [fill-in-the-blank] people, or that they are simply ignorant/stupid. These types of assumptions about someone else’s intentions or character don’t do us any good. What can help is really listening to what they are working towards, and evaluating whether there is any part of that that we care about, too, or whether we are completely at odds. Even wanting very different things, however, doesn’t give us a free pass for demeaning their character or intentions. Our real enemy isn’t each other, but Satan – and he really does try to steal, kill, and destroy – especially in the area of unity and relationships (John 10:10).
5. Respect
We don’t wish ill on people we disagree with. Every human being has been created in God’s image and is worth more than we could ever imagine. So we never wish ill or violence on them. Rather, we work and pray for peace, hope, and a revelation of God’s love for everyone around us – those we go to school with, those of different religions, those who speak different languages from us, those who live very differently from us, and those we disagree with. As 2 Peter 3:9 says, “He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” And of course we can’t forget the famous John 3:16: “For this is how God loved the world: “He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” It’s important for us to remember that this gift of God isn’t reserved for people we agree with – and that ultimately, our goal as Christians is to extend God’s love and mercy to those around us, not to prove that we are right and others are wrong.
Want to get this post in a convenient double-sided printable format for use as a family or small group discussion-starter? Just fill out the form below, and we will e-mail it to you… for free!