For some time now we have felt the Institute is part of a larger synergy as more and more people join in on civility concerns. One recent example is Lou Dobbs, who appears on CNN, and who is a columnist for Money magazine and U.S. News and World Report. He also has a news radio report.
Dobbs sights special interest groups as one of the polarizing factors within the political landscape today, and calls on national leaders to play a strong rule in countering that polarization. In a recent article, Dobbs wrote, “American society is increasingly polarized, our politics ever more fractious, and I believe most of us are figuring out that we spend far too much time and energy dwelling on our differences rather than embracing the similarities and commonalities that unite us as Americans.”
Differences are real, and need to be recognized. They enrich and inform and shape our lives as we live in community. But if we don’t also celebrate and build on our commonalities, our differences may literally tear us apart.
Jim Wallis is a well known member of the Christian community. The Sojourners community of which he is a part is focused on social justice ministries in the Washington, DC area. Through publications, networking and public speaking, Wallis encourages people across the nation to be active in social justice as well. For years we’ve read his articles and we’ve always put him in the “liberal” camp.
So when we read Mr. Wallis’ take on abortion we were surprised. It’s interesting how we automatically place people in different camps when in reality we are more complex than the labels we so often use to define one another.
We have to listen in more than sound bites, read in more than just headlines, and stay present with one another in more than a passing glance if we are ever to understand the complexities behind the positions and opinions each of us holds. When we allow each other to express the full range of what we believe, there is a good chance we will find things we can agree on. The trick is to remain truly civil when we come across those issues upon which we simply cannot agree.
Because the truth is, people are like onions. There are layers and layers of experience, opinion, and truth in all of us.