Are “They” Really the Enemy?

As the political noise grows louder and nastier.  Some thoughts.

It is my great privilege, and I mean that seriously, to have friends whom many would call far to the “right,” as well as friends whom many would call far to the “left.”  How is this possible? you may ask.  The truth of it is, I don’t ask that my friends agree with me.  I do ask that they are honest and caring human beings.  And that’s what my friends on the “right” and “left” have in common.  They are honest, caring human beings.

If that sounds like a non sequitur, then I fear you have fallen victim to the propaganda.  To be sure, there are demagogues (to be kind) on all sides of the spectrum.  But most of us are caring, decent people.

What does feel like a non sequitur is what I hear when my friends on the left and the right describe the current president. 

A few weeks ago, a friend on the right described President Obama as a Socialist, a closet Communist.  “He’s an appeaser, he’s trying to disarm us.  He’s the enemy of Wall Street and all that is right with America.”

And just a few nights ago, a friend on the left described President Obama as a war monger and indeed, and he meant it, a war criminal.  “Worse than Bush.”  To this friend President Obama is, “a closet right winger and a tool of Wall Street.”

The same President Obama!

How are these through-the-looking-glass views of the same man possible?  I feel I need to repeat myself: these are intelligent, caring people.  In this case one happens to be far to the right and one far to the left.

So how can this be?  Indeed, as I left dinner with my friend from the left, it became clear that he had, at least for the moment, come to consider me an unthinking fool, and a great disappointment to him: all for the “sin” of not agreeing with him.  I’m not concerned about the friendship.  He’s already gotten over it.

What does concern me, though, is how we got here.  How can it be that there is no room for discussion?  You either agree with someone or you’re: 1) a well-meaning fool or 2) the enemy.  That’s it.  These appear to be the only options. 

How have we come to this?  How, in terms of politics at least, is President Obama either a right wing war criminal, who is owned by Wall Street, or a left wing socialist, appeaser of our enemies, who hates Wall Street?  How can these views exist at one and the same moment?

Certainly this is a complex issue.  And certainly there is no one cause.  But I would like to offer a cause.  Because as I listen to my friends, they DO have something in common.  None of them trust or even listen to the corporate media.  Those on the left have an  endless loop of left-wing media that are their only source for news.  Those on the right have an endless loop of right-wing media that are their only source for news.  And from both sides the mantra is simple.  Anyone who disagrees is at best an idiot and at worst evil. 

But why, as a minister, am I taking the time to talk about this?   It is because by demonizing those we oppose, we dehumanize them.  If we wish to celebrate our common humanity, we must first dig deep and acknowledge our common humanity.  This is not to deny that there is evil in the world.  But most people are not evil, and that includes the overwhelming majority of those we disagree with. 

I believe it was Harry Truman who said, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”  I would like to offer an alternative.  “If you can’t stand the heat, turn down the flame.”  The key to any solution is understanding that it’s up to us, not up to “them,” up to us.  Turning down the flame does not mean giving in.  Gandhi understood this.  So did King.  We don’t need to give up our dreams.  But, in the name of our common humanity, let us turn down the flame.

Happy New Year.