Practicing Love in Polarized Times

We’ve been hearing a lot of calls for civility recently. Maybe you have too.

People are rightly concerned about the toxicity of our current cultural climate(s). (You too, Canada!) There’s so little space these days for carefully reasoned, nuanced arguments. Each side of the political spectrum seems to have their own vocabulary, and people can be written off as “just a leftist” or “just a right-winger” (or more damning words) simply by using one word over another. Lines have been drawn in the sand, and people are choosing their sides.

People are rightly concerned about the toxicity of our current cultural climate(s).

But so many of these discussions around recovering civility don’t acknowledge that marginalized persons are frequently fighting for their rights, or even their lives, in political conversations, while dominant culture persons are often fighting for benefits and comfort.

In a debate over immigration enforcement, a Hispanic person, especially an undocumented person, has good reason to care quite a bit about the results of the debate. A white person can engage in the debate from a more comfortable position, because they have less at stake. A change in immigration policy likely won’t mean that their family is separated, that they lose access to healthcare, or that a possible path to citizenship is shut down for them. Chances are, the Hispanic person knows a good bit more than the white person about immigration policy—because they have to, or people they care about have to. It’s not a political game or a thought experiment.

Marginalized persons are frequently fighting for their rights, or even their lives, in political conversations.

In a debate about treaty rights or Indigenous sovereignty, an Indigenous person, informed by 500 years of colonial trauma and first-hand awareness of its impacts, has more at stake than a settler person.

That’s why, at the OSJ, we seek to prioritize the voices of marginalized people. We may do this imperfectly, but we seek to listen to, amplify, and give weight to the voices -- perspectives too often ignored or pushed aside -- that are most impacted by issues like climate change, immigration, and religious persecution. That doesn’t mean debate is not appropriate. That doesn’t mean white voices are not welcome in a conversation about immigration. That doesn’t mean all Hispanic people agree on border control, or all Indigenous people agree on treaty rights. But we prioritize the voices of those who are most impacted and create spaces where their humanity as God’s image-bearers will be respected.

That’s why we seek to prioritize the voices of marginalized people.

Let's be clear: we are not giving license to attack those we disagree with. Jesus is clear, we must love all of our neighbors. While we take seriously the call on Christians to seek justice, to defend and take up the cause the oppressed, we also take seriously the call to love our neighbors. We do not encourage or condone behavior that dehumanizes any person..

However, neither do we believe that it is right to silence marginalized persons over their often righteous anger. When your rights are violated, anger is a moral response. When the rights of those you care about are violated, anger is a moral response. Behavior that violates civil discourse but not the image of God is moral. Behavior that is civil but violates the image of God is immoral. A call for civility can sometimes be a veiled call to return to the status quo, a call for people of colour not to cry out for justice. But that’s not love.

A call for civility can sometimes be a veiled call to return to the status quo.

While civility is important, we need a higher calling than civility. There are times when seeking God's justice will anger others, regardless of how it is said or how polite you try to be. When we see an angry response, we have to ask where it came from. Too often we just assume that the person pointing out injustice did so unlovingly, and that brought out the anger and hurtful comments. But often it's not about the speaker, and instead about the hearer. They may be unwilling to hear how they knowingly or unknowingly perpetuate injustice. They may have felt guilty over their actions, and then lashed out in order to cover that pain. We see this often when facilitating workshops: the same presentation, said in the same way, can provoke very different responses.

Christ has ushered in an upside-down Kingdom, where the last are first and the first are last, and we live now in its already-and-not-yet. How are we living into that Kingdom today? Is civility the highest call of that kingdom?

And what is the call of love, even enemy love, on me in this situation?

So before you lament polarization, ask yourself: have I been listening to the voices of marginalized people? Why are the voices of people of colour, women, et cetera being raised with such urgency now? And what is the call of love, even enemy love, on me in this situation? Let's let our anger over injustice, and our hope in Christ for the renewal of all things, be part of what drives us to work towards justice.

We will be held accountable to God for how we use our words (Matthew 5:22, James 3:1-12). Will we use them to follow the model of Christ, who called the Pharisees a “brood of vipers”, flipped the tables in the temple in protest…and then died for his enemies? His divine, and sometimes furious, life is our best example of love. His righteous anger led him to act on behalf of those who were being taken advantage of, to take up the cause of the oppressed.

We will be held accountable to God for how we use our words.

How can you prioritize the voices of those who are most impacted by injustice? Here are some ideas:

• Before you share your opinion about an issue in a conversation or comment thread, ask yourself: what is at stake for me, personally, in this conversation? What may be at stake for others who are participating? And how should that shape how I participate? Might others in this conversation know more about this issue than I do?
• When you are learning more about a justice issue, seek out the perspectives of people who are most impacted, in addition to sources you may have otherwise consulted. Read from or listen to several sources whenever you can--no impacted group agrees all the time!
• If you are most impacted by an injustice, remember that your experience means your input is unique and valuable in these conversations. Remember also that your proximity to the issue makes the conversation more emotionally draining for you than for most dominant-culture persons. It’s important to recognize that you are allowed to tap out, back out, and recuperate when you are becoming exhausted. Find ways to recover your energy, people who can help you care for yourself, and spaces that rejuvenate you.
• Remember, Christ is our ultimate example:

“rather, he made himself nothing

   by taking the very nature of a servant,

   being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

   he humbled himself

   by becoming obedient to death—

       even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:7-8)

[Photo by Sandra Ahn Mode on Unsplash]