Love Your Enemy

Arthur Brooks is a very known conservative economist, a conservative in the line of traditional and  thoughtful conservatives. I have occasionally read columns or articles he has written without ever being impressed. I owe Christiane Amanpour to my eagerness to read his new book, “Love Your Enemies”. 

His book was motivated by our national malaise resulting from our political division resulting from the erosion of the broad middle that historically bridged the conservatives and liberals. We are now experiencing the clash of extremes! It is not only upsetting, it is scary. 

The author engages us by calling us to focus on the person, rather than the words that are spoken. One may totally disagree with the shared view, but he wants us to focus on the person.  

I treasure his approach because I feel caught in a world that I do not enjoy.  I am aware that many of the people who identify with views I deplore have come to their perspective by negative personal experiences. For so many, theIr world has deteriorated for them. They work hard, if they are lucky to have jobs, but they are relatively poorer than so many others.  They expected that the history of each generation being more prosperous than the prior one, only to discover that such an expectation has become a fiction.  The cost of living day to day takes all they have, with no excess for savings. Thinking of a happy retirement becomes a figment of one’s imagination. I am now trying to be more sensitive to how their history resulted in their current political view. 

I need to share some venues of information that are tailored for this segment of the population. I never watch Fox News, for example, but  just downloaded the Fox News app.  I will look at the news that the network is sharing with the public. At least I will become more aware of the information that is shared by the viewers. 

I have to remember that each person is worthy of self-esteem, regardless of one’s political views. As long as I focus on the person, I can hear what is being said in a different manner. I do not have to identify with the views, but I should be willing to identify with the person who is sharing the views. The views are coming out of the person’s history. I want to know more of that history. 

Maybe if I can understand how the person developed the views that are alien to me, I could share my perspective in a way that enables a bond to be established. Our personal experiences are the foundation of a worldview that becomes personal.  Learning the history of the person will enable a bridge to be built to enable a relationship be formed. 

My history of trying to understand life itself surely helps. My understanding of God has transitioned seemingly endlessly from a rather concrete set of beliefs to a history of trying to experience the presence of the divine as present to us all, including the universe In which we live.  If I can change such deeply rooted understanding of God, surely I should be able to develop an appreciation of others with views that appear foreign to me.

We live only once and I need to appreciate even those whose views are alien to me.