THOUGHTS IN BRIEF
Be kind. There are so many pressures on us today to ‘pick a side,’ to ‘find our tribe.’ Fitting in often forces us to ‘read the room’ in a certain way, to adopt the opinions acceptable to our group, and to censor any concerns or misgivings we might have so as not to find ourselves cast out. Rather than bringing us closer together — as it promised, the internet has conspired to widen the divisions between us. Our identities have, in this polarised environment, become entwined with our chosen communities and fused to the political consensus of the tribe.
Without realising it or fully understanding it, this artificial reality has demanded of us that we identify the opinions we dislike with the people who hold them — making these others our enemies. No longer is the object of our politics to defeat the opposition and advance our cause. The object of opinion and politics now is to erase dissent and annihilate dissenters.
There is no ideology without conflict of ideology. Prior to any other reflection, our opinions and political positions are formed in reference to the opinions and politics with which we disagree. Without traditionalism, for example, there would be no need for progressivism. We have been radicalised by social media, and we have lost sight of the humanity of those we have marked as our opposition. This is a terribly dangerous place to be.
Fanatics are preaching to their audiences that kindness is weakness, that there should be no mercy in the pursuit of total victory. But hear this: Stripping our disagreements of kindness — the fundamental human ability to recognise our kinship with others of our species — obviates the possibility of love and compassion. People bereft of these essential virtues relinquish their humanity and become capable of any cruelty. It is our propensity to be kind to others that makes us human and gives us the power to restore the humanity of others.
Jason Michael McCann M.Phil.
Biblical Studies and Hebrew
Race, Ethnicity, and Conflict
Unprecedented Times 