"Know this, my beloved brothers and sisters: Let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for one's anger does not accomplish God's justice."
-James 1:19-20
The growing level of polarization across the country has brought an unforgiving level of intolerance for the ideas of other people. Insecurity often displays itself in the need to be right due to the perception that being wrong uncovers some hidden stupidity or naïveté. With this in mind, it seems as though Americans are some of the least secure people in the world. Instead of listening to opposing ideals, we find the means to shut down the other side as quickly as possible. Instead of questioning ourselves, we point fingers and blame those whom we perceive as causing whatever problem attracts our attention due to their apparently inane beliefs. This has resulted in the suffocation of proper learning, for when we stop listening to others, we stop learning. This comes about in a fairly clear way: when we listen, we hear perspectives that challenge our own, forcing us to re-evaluate our beliefs. Holding the aforementioned insecurity pushes dissenting perspectives away, leading us with stagnant ideals due to the lack of fresh viewpoints.
The damage this attitude causes grows more evident each day. As an example, take the white evangelicals who dismissed Lecrae when he began speaking out about race in the United States. They abandoned him (compare the 88,000 first week sales of Anomaly to the less than 30,000 sales of both Church Clothes 3 and All Things Work Together), criticized him, and left him depressed and nearly without faith - and all this because they obstinately refused to listen to him. If they truly heard him, they would have seen that he was not attacking them or spreading hate; he was simply speaking truth into a broken system. After slavery, segregation, disenfranchisement, and mass incarceration (note that even today our churches are highly segregated without it being forced by law), it seems only reasonable that we would listen to those attempting to ameliorate the issue, especially those doing so with the love of Christ. And yet, this insecure mindset bars us from doing so and leads to further atrocities at our own hands. It crosses political lines, for Bernie Sanders also could not stand the idea that a Christian nominee could simultaneously believe that Muslims are condemned due to their rejection of Jesus and that all people are made equally and deserve respect1.
Fortunately, an easy solution exists to this problem - upon hearing an argument challenging your beliefs, assume that you are wrong and do the work to prove yourself right again. If you cannot prove yourself right, there is no loss. Instead, you come away with an evolved and more correct worldview than before! If you can prove yourself right, then your beliefs have been strengthened! In fact, we should seek ideas challenging our own with this very goal in mind. Living such a lifestyle brings the possibility of true peace, for despite not always agreeing, we can continue to learn from each other by listening to new ideas. Instead of being quick to assert our own opinion, we will give others a platform, and although it would best be done without selfish intentions, it will end up benefitting us in the end. Interestingly, giving others this platform should actually aid in righting the wrongs of the past as we give voices to those previously silenced.
This digs up another root of the problem: in assuming our freedom from error, we maintain a level of power over those who are therefore incorrect. Politically speaking, we (theoretically) vote for a candidate holding the right ideals, illustrating the power at stake in the question of being right or wrong. With enough people against something, it will eventually fade away. In an ideal world, what is right will win, but history informs us of countless events to the contrary. Therefore, a further need exists to abandon the desire for power. Moreover, those in power, whether socially, economically, or politically, must utilize it to lift up those around them. If we do this, we will learn to stop pointing fingers and start working together. Truly, we owe this to those harmed by our ignorance, hoping that they can afford us grace in the learning process.
1. Is It Hateful To Believe In Hell? Bernie Sanders' Questions Prompt Backlash↩