Let me start with two things.
One: Ultimately, the only person responsible for the potential massacre of GOP congressmen that took place at a Alexandria, Va., ballfield this week is James T. Hodgkinson — the deceased shooter himself.
Two: I’m not sure we truly understand how close we came to reaching a point of no return as a people. Had Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., had to miss Wednesday’s practice for any reasons that come up when you’re a husband, father, and member of leadership, we would’ve likely pulled several body bags out of the hailstorm of bullets.
Fortunately, with Scalise there, as the House majority leader he had armed security detail with him who could take down the shooter.
But I can only imagine where we might have gone as a people if that weren’t the case. Would we have seen retaliations? Would this have been the spark that ignited our “Balkan powder keg” of divided culture at the moment, where political violence is becoming increasingly normalized and commonplace? (And now play-beheading politicians we don’t like is apparently fair game?)
This side of eternity, we simply can’t eliminate fallen human nature. Thus, evil and lunacy will always be with us to some extent. However, as fallen human beings, we also have a divine responsibility to aim higher than our worst and most basic instincts. Therefore, now is a moment for us to assess how we may be contributing to pouring gasoline on a raging fire.
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To do our part as a people not to incentivize any more evil and lunacy then this groaning creation already demands we face, I believe we need to do these five things:
1) Remember each of us is an image bearer of God.
No matter how much we may disagree, we must remember the Creator fearfully and wonderfully made that person in His image. He’s counted the hairs on their head.
And, as a Christian, I believe Christ gave his life for them, just as he did for me when I was estranged/opposed to him as well. Not to mention, somewhere that person has a father, mother, spouse, children, and/or others who love them and only know them as an individual — and not a set of beliefs or values we may not share.
If we can’t do this, then we will create more Hodgkinsons.
2) Put the focus on the ideas, not the person.
I happen to think President Obama’s ideology was Marxism, because “by their fruits you will know them.” But I also recognize what a tremendous job he and Michelle did raising those girls in the most difficult circumstances.
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So while I vehemently disagree with Obama’s ideas, and will use every platform I have to defeat them, I honor what is noble about him as a person — beginning by recognizing his humanity, regardless of whether he recognizes mine. Because, ultimately, I am not responsible to my political opponents for my character, but to my Creator.
This is how Reagan can go from telling the “evil empire” to “tear down this wall,” to walking the streets of Moscow during perestroika. His argument was with Sovietism, and how it diminished the human condition, not Mikhail Gorbachev on a personal level.
3) Stop substituting emotion for actual debate.
Just because someone disagrees with you doesn’t mean they hate America, although there are some on the Left that do. Similarly, just because someone disagrees with you doesn’t mean they’re a racist, although there are some on the Right that are.
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Besides, if everyone who disagrees with you is a racist, you so diminish the term, it makes it harder to stamp out real racism. Likewise, if everyone on the other side is an America-hating leftist, it makes it harder to confront those that actually are.
4) Have more in-person, real-time debates – even vigorous ones, not less.
One of the reasons I agree to do “liberal media” appearances when I can is that it’s one of the few places I can go to directly engage the other side — to either find out if they have a legit point, or persuade them to mine. Yet I often have some of the same conservatives complaining about media bias tell me I shouldn’t do so.
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I’m guessing I’ve voiced some of the most “right-wing” opinions ever aired on MSNBC; I’ve never gone on there and had them convince me to move left on an issue. But at the same time, when you get to know people on a first-name basis, it makes it harder to dehumanize them. It also makes you better at making your point.
Any snowflake can be a demagogue, but it takes a true patriot to change hearts and minds. And that often happens at the relationship level — not at the lowest common denominator, in the social media cesspool.
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5) Check your motivations – constantly.
The great D.L. Moody once famously said “when you’re winsome you win some.” Now, sometimes winsome won’t cut it; sometimes a whip of cords is needed and some money changers need turned over.
But make sure that passion, even anger, is righteous in origin. Is this a constructive or destructive motivation? Nothing hurts our arguments more than undermining them by our very own actions and attitudes.
- Discussion
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Why we must return to real and vigorous debate in this country, and how we can do it. My latest for @CR https://t.co/3HXh2QGzd2
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) June 15, 2017
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