Charlie Kirk and the Darkness within

Polarization

 

Will Braun in one of his classes at CMU, referred to something he called, “the darkness within.” And he wanted to take a peak at that darkness within each of us. No one is all sweetness and light. We all have some cruelty inside us. It is a part of us. Part of our nature.

 

Braun quoted a part of vicious attack on Charlie Kirk, a right-wing influencer much loved by the MAGA right particularly after he was shot. This is what the left-wing poster said about Kirk:

 

“He was an unrepentant racist, transphobe, homophobe, and misogynist who often wrapped his bigotry in Bible verses because there was no other way to pretend that it was morally right, as do many vile people.”

 

Braun asked us to consider what is the point of posting such a harsh diatribe about a dead man, who left behind a wife and children? I have to admit that when I read it, I agreed with it in large part, but acknowledged Braun had point. Braun said that “this was like posting, ‘God thank you for not making me like Charlie Kirk.’” Like the Pharisee Luke had talked about.  Yet should I think the guy who posted this complaint about Charlie is dumb and thank God that I am not like him?  That would be bad too. Superiority always comes natural to many of us, including me, sadly.

 

At the funeral for Charlie Kirk, his widow Erica said she forgave the man who killed her husband, the father of her children, who now don’t have a father. That is no small thing to forgive in such circumstances. Could I do it?  Trump on the other hand, immediately said he could not do it. He hated his opponents. He wanted vengeance and fought hard for it against not just the killer but everyone on the side of the evil left.

 

It is so natural for many of us to be judgmental. That is why we have to work hard to control the judgments.

 

A good friend of mine often reminds me of that wonderful comic where Homer Simpson prayed “Please God help me go to church regularly so I can learn to be more judgmental.” A lot of non-Christians of course are just as judgemental.  Sometimes it’s hard not to be judgemental. I admire those who can avoid it. I would like to be like them.

 

As Braun said, “she [Mrs. Kirk]  looked like the American evangelical Barbie and there she is forgiving Charlie Kirk’s killer when it was clearly not aligned with the mood of the event.” That took courage and strength.

 

The American right, including of course, J.D. Vance and Stephen Miller were out for vengeance against the left, which they called justice. But she looked like a shallow right-winger, but was forgiving him. Could we do that? Did we have any right to feel superior to her? I would suggest no.

 

Polarization is easy; empathy is hard. Or as Will Braun said, “It’s easy for us to enjoy the militant backwardness of others.”

 

That darkness within can get pretty ugly.

 

We are all Beloved of God

Extremism, Pluralism, Polarization, religion

 

Will Braun, who facilitated the class Christiane and I took at Canadian Mennonite University is also the editor of the Canadian Mennonite Magazine. I think it is fair to say he is a progressive Mennonite. Though he says he is very experienced in interviewing and talking to others with views different from his own.  These include, prominent Zionists, right-wing politicians, truck convoy organizers, pro-industry Indigenous leaders, and Trump supporters. He said he wants to understand them.  That is a good beginning.

 

 

He tries to be very fair in explicating their views. That is not always easy. This is particularly hard in the modern polarized world in which we live.

 

Braun is also a self-professed Christian. I found his views on how to live in a polarized world very interesting.  Braun said, as a Christian, that the bedrock for him is: “we are all the beloved of God.” We are the children of God. The light of God is in us all. For him this is a fundamental position. That is what empathy is all about. God does not love me more than others. We are all made in the image of God.  To him, that is foundational Christianity. Unlike feelings of superiority. If you think about it, feelings of superiority seem deeply un-Christlike?  Is that not true? This is also the basis of pluralism.

 

In a parable in the Bible, in Luke, Jesus goes to talk to the hated tax collector.  No one’s favourite person.  And the tax collector asks for forgiveness because “I am a sinner.”  Braun said “this is not a right-wing mantra. Nor is it a left-wing mantra.” Zealots do not speak like that. Zealots don’t ask for forgiveness. And no one offers mercy to the other side. Donald Trump is loud and proud about never asking for forgiveness. He sees that as a sign of weakness. And to Trump weakness is the cardinal unforgivable sin.

 

“Mercy is so out of date,” said Braun, painting a bleak picture of the modern world. Is that really what it is like? I hope not. I could not stand to live in a world like that. I like a world in which Christians like Braun speak freely. I learned a lot from him.

You can see that I am rambling, but what else can you expect from a meanderer? Besides, Braun rambled too. I am trying to give you his views through the lens of mine. At best, he and I are stumbling towards the truth. If we are lucky that is. Even is we are not always together.

A Parable from Luke

Extremism, Polarization

 

Will Braun started a class on  his Upside down view of Polarization with a reading of Luke 19 9-14 as he felt these verses were deeply relevant to sharing points at which the polarization rubber hits the road of life. I won’t quote it all but just a small part of it as follows:

King James Version Luke:

 

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

 

 

To this Braun replied, “I have said that a million different times in my life. For example, thank you God that I am not like those people who watch Fox News.”  I admit, I have also felt that way and spoken that way. I am just as bad as Will and so many others. That is feelings of superiority speaking. Thank you God that I am not like those people who carry rainbow flags.  Or, thank you God that I am not like those who fly ‘F*ck You Trudeau signs. As Braun said, “we draw a line and place God on our side of the line and then look down on people on the other side of that line.” We are people who are confident of our own righteousness and look down on others.”

 

Or as Braun also put, “we wallow in our feelings of self-righteousness.”  The feeling of superiority is a powerful elixir, but it is toxic.

 

This was the attitude of superiority that has reaped havoc with Christian thought and action for centuries. That is the attitude that must be deep-sixed in favour of quiet, but powerful, humility.

 

Will Braun said he preferred to say, or at least was trying to favor saying, ‘Thank you God that I am like other people.’

 

 

The Weird World of the West

Decline of the west, Pessimism, reason, Sacred Ignorance, The Sleep of Reason

 

One thing at least is clear. The world is weird and so is Donald Trump. He may be the weirdest of them all.

 

First of all, we all know that Trump hates renewable energy with a passion. He likes oil, gas, and coal, even when the world, particularly China is moving towards renewable energy. So he has done everything he could do to hold back the turn to renewable energy in the United States because he thinks that the United States is tied to fossil fuels and can benefit from holding back renewables. Added to that the giant energy corporations which he solicited Bigly in the 2024 election are his buddies. He likes them. He understands them. They are greedy like him and are trying to squeeze every dollar out of the fossil fuel economy while it is still significant.

 

There is one other important element here. Trump started the war against Iran entirely on his own initiative. That war is on him and he caused it when no one was encouraging him to attack Iran except right wing zealots from times of yore.

 

Many countries have reacted to this scary thing in variety of ways. Some have tried to find new ways to get their oil to the markets by avoiding the Straight of Hormuz. The allies of the United States like Saudi Arabia and many others have relied on the United States to provide order, stability, and protection. But their American  guarantor has heavily disappointed them.

 

That was has scared a lot of countries. They saw how a relatively small country like Iran without a great deal of power could react to a punishing attack by the richest and most heavily armed country in the world and in effect hold a massive world economy up for ransom in the process.  Ian Bremner an international risk assessment expert had some interesting things to say about this on Fareed Zakaria’s television show on CNN:

 

“It really unnerves them, because they understand that on the back of a unilateral American decision that a relatively small country, can put them at risk  put and can hold a 100 plus trillion dollar global economy at risk and there are tremendous implications of this. One is that OPEC is functionally dead. That is why the Emirates have left. They don’t want to be held with stranded assets…This is also going to affect countries around the world because they can see that these straits, not just here [Hormuz] but also the Red Sea also the Malaqqa are very vulnerable, moving them to renewable energy in a much, much, faster way…We can look back at this in 10 years and see that orange is the new Green. Trump will have done more for renewable energy unintentionally than any other president in US history!”

 

All of this accumulated so much that Bremner said Trump’s starting the War against Iran was “the biggest foreign [policy] mistake of his administration by a very long margin.” This of course was such a big mistake not because it pushed many countries towards renewables, for that was a good thing, but because it pushed China even farther down its agenda in turning away from fossil fuels and more towards renewables which is givng it an incredibe leg up on the US in making its shift to green energy when the US stupidly goes in the opposite direction. China will be eating the US’s lunch.

 

The world is really weird all. And getting weirder all the time.

 

This should hardly be surprising to anyone though. What do you expect when you combine great ignorance with great power as America has done? That’s what sacred ignorance is all about.

A Gentle Revolution

Extremism, Moral Humility, Polarization, World of ideas

 

Vaclav Havel was a political genius.  He became the political leader of Poland when the Soviet empire collapsed. He was poet and dramatist.

 

Havel came from the world of extremes but he did not want to live there. He wanted to establish a politics based on morality.  That seems like a absurd idea doesn’t it? Particularly in this current age of polarization and rage.  People get so enraged with “the other side” that that they regard others who disagree with us as enemies. Or worse.

 

This is what he said in a New Year’s Day speech:

 

“Let us teach both ourselves and others that politics ought to be a reflection of the aspiration to contribute to the happiness of the community and not of the need to deceive or pillage the community. Let us teach both ourselves and others that politics does not have to be the art of the possible, especially if this means the art of speculating, calculating, intrigues, secret agreements, and pragmatic maneuvering, but that it also can be the art of the impossible, that is the art of making both ourselves and the world better.”

 

 

When was the last time you heard a political leader talk like that? It seems like it must have been a lifetime ago. Imagine trying to make ourselves and the world better. And without “pragmatic maneuvering.

 

Here is another part of that small speech:

“Our worst enemy today is our own bad qualities—indifference to public affairs, conceit, ambition, selfishness, the pursuit of personal advancement, and rivalry—and that is the main struggle we are faced with.”

 

And this is what he said as his country was embarking on a democracy after years of tyranny and abuse: “We are going into free elections, and an election battle. Let us not allow that battle to sully the still clean face of our gentle revolution….”

 

That is what he wanted—a gentle revolution or as some called it, a “velvet revolution.” Compare that to the bombast of our modern world.  All over, not just in America. We can do better. We can dissolve the polarities, but we have to work at it. Bombast and spite are much easier, but a lot less fruitful.

Being a Better Neighbour

Extremism, Fellow Feeing, Free Speech, Polarization, Truth Seeking

 

Will Braun asked members of our group what they wanted to learn about polarization from this course. There were some interesting answers. One person said she wanted to learn to be a better neighbour. Wow, I thought. I need that too. I really need that. Isn’t that what. Jesus recommended as well? Another said, polarization was real and all around us and he wanted to learn how to live in polarized world. Another good point. One woman asked, “how do I live my pacifism in such a situation?” Good questions.  I thought.

 

Will Braun said he wanted us to get beyond the common attitude when discussing issues with those we disagree with, where we gnash our teeth and ask ourselves if we are polite, and asking out loud if we are not, ‘why are those people so stupid?’ Looking down on the others is rarely a good attitude to take if you want to influence others. Just ask Hillary Clinton! She found out that others don’t like a superior attitude.  I know I have to guard against such an attitude. Arrogance is often a cheap and shallow way out of legitimate discussion.

 

Braun said that there are those from both sides that try to impose rules about what we can and cannot discuss with the other side. Those rules are not helpful. “I want to transgress those rules,” said Braun. “Good people who want to discuss things should be able to do that without being batted around,” said Braun. Such rules make people afraid to discuss what needs to be discussed. He also said he was finding the rules that seem to suppress his ability to discuss things are becoming increasingly untenable.

 

I remember our last year in Arizona when we were at a late night party and were among the last 3 couples to leave. There were 2 couples and 1 American couple. The American couple lived close to us as did all of the people at the party. They were all our neighbours. I had though the American couple were staunch Trumpsters. Yet one of us asked them, in the dark of night, after all their friends were gone, most of whom were clearly staunch Trump supporters, “Do you guys like Donald Trump.” The response to the question was breathtaking in its suddenness and surprise.  The woman shouted out, “Fuck No.”  Sorry for using the bad word but it is what she said.  All her friends were Trump supporters. She and her husband were life-long Republicans, but secretly they both hated Trump and everything he stood for.

 

If we had followed the implicit rules about not talking politics with our American friends, as we usually did, we would never have learned that about them and how they had to stickhandle around holding these views secretly. I wondered how many others felt the same way?  We left back for Canada a couple of days later so I could not find out. That’ sad. And it comes from following the rules of decorum. If you are a good neighbour you must be able to discuss issues openly with or you will not benefit from their real views.  And you don’t get to exercise your right of free speech that way either. And usually you don’t find the truth without seeking the truth.

 

Farmers are My Kind of People

Extremism, Polarization

 

I know when I moved back to Steinbach after 7 years studying at university in the big smoke, I was apprehensive. These people here did not feel like my kind of people. But guess what? They are my kind of people. I still disagree with them about many things. In some areas, like politics, I usually disagree with them, but they are still my kind of people.

 

The best example of this I can come up with is farmers. I grew up in a small rural town but I only knew one farm family. I loved going there to play on the farm. I thought cows were pretty cool. And Hay piles. I was blown away.

 

Later, after living here in Steinbach as a practicing lawyer, for some years I came to realize that I really liked farmers. They truly were the salt of the earth. We might disagree about politics or religion or social issues, but I really liked them. They were in many respects—in the most important respects—my kind of people. And I had a lot to learn from them, and perhaps, just perhaps they could learn a small tidbit or two from me. By the time I realized this I realized I was in the right place.

 

There was one incident that really solidified this view point for me. It was during the so-called ‘flood of the century” in Manitoba. Many homes were flooded. Some of the owners needed help flood proofing their homes. It was thanks to my son Patrick that I realized I should not remain a bystander. He told me, “Dad we should help.” I realized he was absolutely right we should help and he researched the issue and found a place, a farm where we could help them sand bag their property in the hopes of keeping back the river. He found a farm near Niverville where I worked one day a week and we went out sand bagging and felt good about our little effort.

 

The next day I talked to a client of mine from Niverville. He was a farmer who always lived and worked his farm in the flood plain. He had the right equipment for building dykes from his farm. It was a big farm. He was a very successful farmer and he made his equipment available for his neighbours to use and they worked together on their farms to strengthen their dykes.  I asked him at the end of the day, “What about your farm?”  He answered “I will get to my farm, but these places are more urgent. We must do them first. I said “OK you know what you are doing.” But he didn’t. A couple of days later his farm yard and his farm buildings flooded, but thankfully not his house which was on higher ground and was spared. But he suffered significant losses that he could have avoided by working on protecting his own house first instead of helping his neighbours.

 

This farmer was a mensch. He was the salt of the earth. I wondered if other professionals would have done what he did? I wondered if I would have done what he did? Farmers just seem to do it. Not all of them, but many of them. Farmers are my kind of people.

 

Will Braun my instructor on an upside-down view of polarization at Canadian Mennonite University  also lived in a Bible Belt farming community, like me. He too moved back to his home community in the country in the Bible belt where people are very conservative. As he said about himself, “It’s weird how over time in a new environment, you see things differently. When people around you see things differently you can’t dismiss them. They are good people, even though sometimes you want to dismiss them.”  You should never dismiss people.  That does not mean you always have to agree with them. But recognize that like you they are travelling through life doing the best they can and making mistakes like us. Braun said it has made him be open to broader views. This made him better able to avoid taking too extreme views. They were his kind of people.

 

I hope that living with farmers also expanded my horizons. I fear that too often I have failed to learn from my neighbours. It’s hard to measure up to them.

 

Viewpoint diversity is as good as biodiversity

Extremism, Liberalism, Moral Humility, Philosophy/Ideas, Pluralism, Polarization, syncretism

 

If we really want to find the truth, we need viewpoint diversity. It is as important as biodiversity and basically for the same reason. Cross fertilization breeds strength. As John Stuart Mill, the great philosopher of liberalism, said,

 

“He who knows only one side of the case knows little of that.  His reasons may be good and no one may have been able to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no good ground for preferring either opinion.”

 

Such an attitude automatically respects that others may have some truth. We may have something to learn from others. As a result, such an attitude automatically leads us away from extremism.  We then can’t just shout hooray for our side.

Mill makes the point that if you have no viewpoint diversity and listen only to one side, and as a result your ideas are not exposed to challenge, you get stupid! You get intellectually lazy and you just believe dogmatically and then, if you are pushed to explain your viewpoint or defend it, you can’t.

Mill says you should listen to the other side because you might be wrong and because the other side might be right. If you are wrong and you listen to another viewpoint your error might be exposed and then you might avoid making a mistake. That is good!  Similarly, if you are right and yet you listen to another opinion you learn how to defend your opinion and strengthen it. Your opinion will be more solid, more defendable. That is good too! Such humility is also the basis of syncretism and pluralisms, two of my favourite things.

 

Will Braun is a person who enjoys talking with the other side, because he is curious about them, but also because he realizes he might actually learn something from them that he did not know before.

 

Braun, like me, lives in a very conservative area of Manitoba.  When Justin Trudeau was first elected, he said we must remember, “Conservatives are not our enemies; conservatives are our neighbours.” In nearly every debate of substance we must remember, the other side is not our enemies, they are fellow travelers. In Steinbach it is literally true. The conservatives are my neighbours not my enemies. Sometimes I forget that. When I do forget, I am wrong. My bad. Maybe Trudeau forgot that later too. It is easy to forget these wise words. We all do it.

 

Remembering we might be wrong can temper the extremes. That is another good reason to have doubts. Doubts are good.