Are we headed for civil war or a civility revival?
“God is on our side!”
“No, God is on our side!”
“Trump is wrong about everything. I hate him!”
“Trump is the best. He’s saving our country!”
And so it goes – in Nashville, across Tennessee and our deeply divided country.
Last year, I wrote “Ending Our Uncivil War: A Path to Political Recovery & Spiritual Renewal.” Since then, some are saying we’re heading toward actual civil war. There’s evidence they may be right.
States are banning travel to other states, and some are threatening secession. Intolerant business owners are forbidding service to customers, based on political or religious views. Congressmen have been shot.
Undeniably, Hammurabi’s Code has taken root. Many want an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Surveys and polls are showing that people are concerned that incivility is rising greatly. That has an effect on Americans’ politics and ability to sustain democracy.
Oddly, churchgoers on both sides of our national mess are reluctant to turn a cheek, fine with abandoning the least of our brothers or condemning anyone who is wealthy, and adamantly opposed to loving their enemy. In fact, some want blood. They want Barabbas.
We’re in a Binary Age, where nuance is rare, complexity is verboten and sharp political battle lines are drawn. One side blames Pelosi and Schumer. The other side points fingers at McConnell, Ryan and Trump.
To these combatants, it’s an either-or game of political conquest, not fixing immigration, Social Security or healthcare. And I’m sorry to say, the next election, while important, won’t change much.
Our leaders are not to blame, that much. We’re to blame, mostly. We have been baited, gamed and hooked by powerful institutions and people who revel like the devil in recycling one-sided accounts sated with certitude and fear, blame and shame.
When will we spit the hook and embrace life’s complexity? When will we join neighbors who are more curious and less furious, more scout than soldier? When will we stop believing everything we think?
If we are to end our uncivil war, and God forbid, prevent another civil war, we have a choice as individuals and as a nation.
That decision requires more to speak out against dehumanizing comments from any Republican, Democrat or Independent, and certainly not retweeting plentiful garbage or worrying about being disloyal to any elected official or political party.
It requires joining a movement of civility and greater civic engagement, speaking truth to power and making Congress, Our Collective Voice, strong again, seeking diverse viewpoints and proven facts, and celebrating what binds us. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Bill of Rights. Freedom with responsibility. A republic, if we can keep it.
It means realizing the other guy may be right, as Tennessee Republican Senator Howard Baker said,
