Recently at the church I pastor we had the opportunity to view the movie, "Lord Save Us from Your Followers." I thought the film was excellent and had a great message for people both in and out of the church today. One of the best points made in the film was one of the major problems we face in our society is we are only interested in letting others know where we stand or the positions we take on issues and we no longer seem to be willing to listen to the other people around us.
I find this in particular to be true in the political arena. It seems as we are heading toward the election that people choose up sides, talk only about their candidate and expect us to listen to them but do not want to hear anything when it comes to the other side. This creates a win lose situation and the only thing that matters is my side needs to win. Usually that means if I can yell the loudest, be the most charismatic person to attract the most people and place a better spin on where I stand on the issues then I will win. Now I have discovered that both sides of debates are guilty of this practice and the only thing it serves to do is make both sides more polarized.
What is more frightening than this fact are the results. I saw it in several places today on a personal level. There were four incidences which happened to me today which brought this to light. First, I got into a disagreement on a web site with a person because of how a certain issue was handled. It did not take long for others to jump in and take sides and the whole issue escalated out of proportion. It was quickly stopped by the person moderating the board. After talking personally with both the parties involved he was able to resolve the situation.
The second incident happened at my gym. While working out I heard one of the persons on another piece of equipment start talking in a loud voice about how they needed to s change the channel on the television because he did not like the politcal persuasion of the one being broadcast. It did not matter what anyone else thought he was making sure he was heard and his wishes were followed. The loudest voice is often the one that gets heard. As I left the gym today he was still explaining his position to anyone who would listen.
The third incident happened in my car, I was waiting at the stop sign when a person yelled something directed at me for what reason I am unsure but it was certainly not complimentary. A road rage incident could have easily resulted but I drove away wondering what the problem was.
A fourth incident was through a piece of e-mail I recieved which I found very offensive. I quickly deleted it and went about my business.
Of those four incidents I responded to only one and it quickly got out of control. ( I do plan on aplogizing for my actions.) In each case based on what I have seen lately in our world a response in the other three would more than likely have created a greater escalation of hostility and further problems.
I have spent the afternoon pondering how has our society gotten to this place and is there anything I can do about it. The movie I mentioned earlier did have a solution and it was to take time not only to speak but to hear what others are saying, to have a conversation. Then there is a chance for understanding. That is what I plan to do. Now I have an apology to make.