Peace on Earth and Good Will to All - Learning to Be Civil

This is my latest contribution to the Pastor's Column which appears in our local Helena newspaper (the Independent Record).

- - - - - -

In these days leading up to Christmas we who call ourselves Christian look ahead with anticipation to the celebration of the humble birth of the one we have come to know as the “Prince of Peace.” “Peace on Earth and Good Will to All!” was the message proclaimed by the angels. And yet, 2,000 years after that message was first heard by shepherds watching their flock by night both peace and good will often seem in short supply. In the aftermath of the recent election the news is filled with examples of blatant intolerance, hostility, incivility, anger, and hatred. Examples include Swastikas painted on walls, screaming at people perceived to be different, threats of violence, and so much more. If I'm not careful I begin to despair that simple human decency and respect are becoming endangered qualities which have fallen out of favor. But then I remember that it need not be so. It is possible to reclaim such practices. It happens one encounter at a time. 

My congregation, Plymouth Congregational Church, recently sponsored a pair of community workshops which helped the participants focus on civil discourse. The particular topic which we discussed was the contentious issue of refugees in Montana, but the subject was how we might engage in hard conversations around challenging topics in a respectful and civil manner. In other words, what might it look like to really experience Peace on Earth and Good Will towards all?

What we discovered was surprisingly simple. Not easy, but simple. We were challenged to begin with the common ground of our shared humanity, to remember that we are talking to another human being. When we focus exclusively on the issue (whatever that issue might be) it can become easy to demonize anyone who disagrees with our position. We label them as “the enemy” and then attack them or dismiss them. So at our civil discourse workshops we began not with issues but with stories. We shared a meal together. We dared to be vulnerable. We spent time simply listening to each other. At the end of the day we hadn't solved the problems of the world or even come up with any concrete plans for addressing the refugee issue. But we had taken the important first step of remembering that we are all in this life together. We were kind to each other. And each of us walked away convinced that next steps toward solutions were possible. 

I am aware that just writing about all of this opens me up to criticism from those who will say that such an approach is naïve, simplistic, and unrealistic. “Sitting around singing Kum-Ba-Ya will not solve the problems of the world.” If that were the end of the story then I would plead guilty as charged. But such an approach represents a starting place, not the finish line. Of course there are challenging issues that must be faced and hard choices that must be made. But I am convinced that genuine, long lasting solutions will not arise by being nasty with each other. Only when we learn to meet as fellow human beings will we begin to discover ideas which are bigger than the inside of our own heads. Singing Kum-Ba-Ya can't be all that we do, but doing something besides yelling at each other might be a helpful place to begin. 

The 13th-century Sufi poet Rumi (with help from translator Colman Barks) wrote, “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase “each other” doesn't make any sense.”  Perhaps that is what Jesus had in mind when he instructed his disciples to “love one another.” Maybe we can begin by simply learning to be civil as we interact with our fellow human beings.