What a time this is! Two weeks ago a New Hampshire hate group targeted a Christian friend who accompanies, supports, and advocates for people in New Hampshire’s refugee and immigrant community that include Christians, Muslims and Buddhists. The hate group has posted her name, address and phone number on internet websites along with accusations that supporting Muslims makes her a danger to America. She is also accused of hatred and advocacy against white people. According to the Southern Poverty law Center there are eight hate groups in New Hampshire. Hate crimes against Muslims is up 99 percent from 2014 to 2016.
“What a time this is!” lamented a neighbor recently as we stood by our mailboxes. For the next several minutes we listed incidents where individuals and groups of people are being demonized and dismissed for standing against the current climate of perpetual deceptions and lies, racism, hegemony and fear of “the other.”
Another neighbor stopped me in our parking lot to say: “I don’t know what to do. I feel myself becoming mean-spirited toward my government leaders and neighbors who perpetuate divisions among people. I want my empathy and love back.”
And over a cup of coffee after church a conversation leads to the question, “How is it ever possible to improve relationships among fellow human beings in times like these?”
The source contributing to these troubling conversations and experiences begins with the hurtful labeling, bluster, suspicion and multiple interpretations of our president’s incongruous tweets, threats and speeches. President Donald Trump and his administration’s ongoing attacks on the press as “enemies of the people” motivated more than 390 newspapers, including the Concord Monitor, to publish editorials on Aug. 16, “honoring the work that journalists have done and continue to do in the name of truth and transparency.”
Truth eludes many of the communications coming from the White House. Executive orders bolster white privilege and give cover for the activities of hate groups. In the name of “terrorist threats” we’re cajoled to be suspicious of others and report those who don’t seem to fit in, even a person in the innocuous act of napping on a park bench. Differing individuals and groups of people are demonized and dismissed. Amidst it all dwells the threat that if we don’t go along with a particular point of view we might become the next enemy. This threat is modeled by Trump’s intimidation of government employees, people in politics and others by publicly speculating about firing, taking away security clearances and marginalizing critics as incompetent or enemies of the people.
These circumstances spin people off into adversarial enclaves and create exclusive comfort zones for like-minded people. Frozen ideologies, fear of the other and denigration of character create an unhealthy environment for free and open democratic elections. I need to remind myself that I can escape participating in this toxic state of affairs as the 2018 elections approach.
There are a number of ways that I am able to join with others to turn the context of this election season from fabricating enemies into civility, empathy and intellectual honesty. We can do our best to insist that candidates give sources for the “facts” they use, expect straightforward answers to questions and refuse to accept equivocation, such as the attempt of one of Trump’s lawyers, Rudy Giuliani, to explain that “truth” is relative. We can focus on candidates’ positions on issues and reasons for those positions. We can look for candidates who are motivated by empathy for all people and their well-being instead of aligning with the privileged and the powerful. We can also scrutinize a candidate’s style and decision-making methodology.
In order to base voting decisions on solid credible information, no credence should be given to tweets and sound bites as sources of facts and truth. Also, it is important to discern bias and identify editorial comments embedded in news reports by paying attention to headlines, adjectives, adverbs and selected points of view. When listening to news on radio or TV, to take note of the side comments of news anchors. Notice how images shown and the heightened emphasis and excitement in their voices influence a particular news report.
Newspapers that aspire to truth and transparency confine opinions to the forum and editorial pages. Op-eds can help readers to process news, and information about candidates and issues. However, editorials and commentaries should be recognized as analysis of diverse perceptions of the meaning of news reports. They present differing interpretations of a candidate’s qualifications. They speculate on the effects of a candidate’s positions on issues. Surveys and polls, predictions of outcomes, and amounts of money spent on campaigns are insignificant guides for decisions about choosing a candidate or supporting a referendum.
In addition, it is important to listen to people who come from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, education and economic circumstances, as well as friends and neighbors. The goal is to understand the variety of positions and insights they have on issues and candidates. Also, disciplined listening helps to empathize with others’ feelings and motivations. A focus on listening leads not to trying to change each other but to the recognition that each of us is in charge of our own decisions based upon our own knowledge and discernment as well as on our ability to listen and understand others. In this way we gain respect for those who disagree with us.
And together we may identify the skills of candidates and their primary concerns, and discern a candidate’s attitude toward the diversity of American people.
Finally, bullies in power positions who maligned people disagreeing with them must be given no credence. It is particularly important for candidates and elected officials to know that their constituents reject threats, financial leverage, and character assassination as reasons for their vote. And it is important to my friend to know that we will always stand between her and that hate group that has threatened her.
And it is most important that we vote. It will make a difference in a time like this.
(The Rev. John Buttrick, United Church of Christ, lives in Concord.)