He was featured in a blog post last year titled "Arthur C. Brooks challenges us to love our enemies" (which I now can't find.) He's a compelling teacher, and his lessons are worth learning.
Most recently, he spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast. From the transcript
I am here today to talk about what I believe is the biggest crisis facing our nation — and many other nations — today. This is the crisis of contempt — the polarization that is tearing our society apart. But if I do my job in the next few minutes, I promise I won’t depress you. On the contrary, I will show you why I believe that within this crisis resides the best opportunity we have ever had, as people of faith, to lift our nations up and bring them together. ...
So what's the problem:
The problem is what psychologists call contempt. In the words of the 19th-century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, contempt is “the unsullied conviction of the worthlessness of another.” In politics today, we treat each other as worthless, which is why our fights are so bitter and cooperation feels nearly impossible. ...
How do we overcome this?
To achieve these things, I’m going to suggest three homework assignments.
First: [Mr. Brooks asks us to pray.]
Second: Make a commitment to another person to reject contempt. Of course you will disagree with others — that’s part of democracy. It is right and good, and part of the competition of ideas. But commit to doing it without contempt and ask someone to hold you accountable to love your enemies.
Third: Go out looking for contempt, so you have the opportunity to answer it with love. I know that sounds crazy, to go looking for something so bad. But for leaders, contempt isn’t like the flu. It’s an opportunity to share your values and change our world, which is what leadership is all about, isn’t it?
The nation is being ripped apart with partisan beliefs. It's nice to get a reminder that we should love our neighbors.
------
4:15 PM 2/18/2020
Comments