Just Listen

Image source: Cartoon Movement

Nothing new here - I think we can all acknowledge that social media interactions can be pretty godawful. Seriously, regardless of what I post, it usually doesn’t take long for somebody to come along and shout some absurdity in my direction - I always delete the comment and block the person. But still, it’s pretty astounding what people will do behind the anonymity of the Internet. Some recent examples: I was called a f'***ing idiot for suggesting students read John C. Calhoun. And another, accused of deliberately manipulating evidence in the Confederate Constitution and indoctrinating students. And my personal favorite, attacked for giving a platform to racists and “Lost Cause hillbillies” because I spoke to some people I met at a monument in Virginia and had what I called a “productive” conversation that included disagreement. And I promise you - the vitriol is coming from both ends of the political spectrum - so I am not pointing fingers at either side over the other.

I’m not the first to note this, nor am I the first to call for a cease fire. But honestly, all of those out there who seem to get off on Internet rage as a form of self-aggrandizement or moralizing self-righteousness need to chill. Here’s an idea: listen. There is a growing number of people (teachers, students, and others…) on the Internet who are embracing listening to ideas and thinking critically about them (HUZZAH). Just because they posit an idea for conversation does not mean they necessarily endorse the idea. Because they are noting diversity of thought and they are willing to engage with those who hold different opinions and interpretations does not mean they are abandoning the “truth” - it’s quite the opposite, really. Learning why people think the way they do - people today and historical actors - can be a very enlightening exercise. People of all sorts come from different backgrounds. They are raised in different contexts under various circumstances. It’s no wonder that we all have some different ways of looking at the world.

But you know, people who don’t necessarily think exactly like you are not the enemy. In fact, folks are probably more alike than not. They go to work, pay their bills, play with their kids or pets or both, think about the future, go to the movies, watch sports, read books, and have some sort of spiritual connection.

A question: what gives anyone the right to assume that because you know one thing about someone you know everything else? Chances are you don’t know much at all. Now before you accuse me of suggesting we all cuddle up with our local white supremacists so we can better understand them, I’m not. But I would say that perhaps we try to understand someone before we make a judgment and accuse them of whatever the go-to worst thing happens to be from your perspective.

Here’s one of my favorite quotes - from Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural, which I find myself using more and more these days.

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

Let’s give those better angels a chance - talk to people, learn what makes them tick, and maybe we can work out our differences before things go to pieces.

With compliments,

Keith