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After becoming overwhelmed by what appears to be racist rhetoric, the writing of an early 20th-century author, John Macmurray, was calming. A political theorist, considered a philosopher of psychology and psychotherapy, he asks "What stops us from being whole, spontaneous loving human beings?” He then argues that it is fear in many guises. In listening to chants from Trump’s rallies and angry comments during Robert Mueller’s testimony, it seems natural to ask: “Of what are people afraid?” We are enmeshed in political acrimony.
As angry as we might feel seeing images reflecting “them” and “us” on social media, one point stands out—despite racism, there are good people photographing and filming and oftentimes bringing perpetrators to justice. For such people who persist in trying to bring about social justice, we feel grateful. In some ways, social media creates a community in which people draw comfort from the shared freedom to relate to one another, to be giving, to be tolerant, and to reject or condemn those who are living a life of fear and anger.
Politics has become angry. A New Yorker cartoon on July 18, 2019, by Avi Steinberg, pictured a mother scolding her son: “You will not use Presidential language in this house.”
While we have come to expect presidential tirades, Rebecca Meade reported on The Power of Love in Politics, July 28, 2016. This story highlighted Cory Booker’s speech at the Democratic National Convention. While I am still hoping for Oprah Winfrey or George Clooney to save us—Booker's words resonate:
“Today we gather here again in this city, in this City of Brotherly Love, to reaffirm our values before our nation and the whole world,” he declared. [Booker went on to make a case for love as a foundational American value, the force that binds atomized individuals into a more formidable collective.] “We cannot devolve into a nation where our highest aspirations are that we just tolerate each other,” he said. “We are not called to be a nation of tolerance. We are called to be a nation of love.”
Booker seems to embrace words from Emma Lazarus on the Statue of Liberty “Give me your tired, your poor.”
Today when the tired and poor come to our borders, families are separated and held in cages. The world of hope and caring seems to be collapsing.
Sometimes we need to force ourselves to express gratitude—for ourselves as well as others. It is when we lose hope that we lose our chance to make a difference.
Michelle Obama said, in her farewell to the nation:
"So for all the young people in this room and those who are watching, know that this country belongs to you — to all of you, from every background and walk of life. If you or your parents are immigrants, know that you are part of a proud American tradition — the infusion of new cultures, talents and ideas, generation after generation, that has made us the greatest country on earth. . . .
If you are a person of faith, know that religious diversity is a great American tradition, too. In fact, that’s why people first came to this country — to worship freely. And whether you are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh — these religions are teaching our young people about justice, and compassion, and honesty. So I want our young people to continue to learn and practice those values with pride. You see, our glorious diversity — our diversities of faiths and colors and creeds — that is not a threat to who we are, it makes us who we are." Michelle Obama's Final Remarks
This brings me back to Macmurray, who taught that relationship is rooted in action. “Creating community between persons is not just an idea to contemplate, but a central underlying task for humankind. . . . For Macmurray, it is in community with others that we discover who we really are." (The John Macmurray Fellowship)
Copyright 2019 Rita Watson
References
Donna M. Mertens, D.M. (2014). Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods, SAGE Publications, Inc. Thousand Oaks, CA,
