Recently, I was listening to the radio and happened upon the “Freakonomics” program. The topic that day was our seeming addiction to contempt; the sense that we have a “contempt crisis” in our politics and even our daily lives. This sounded right to me as I listened and thought about how nasty and brutal our national discourse has become over the last several years.
I’d guess there are many factors that have brought us to this point. One factor no doubt involves what’s left of the news media. Another is how social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter feed us content that aligns with whatever their algorithms discern we’re comfortable hearing and seeing. Tthese outlets serve as echo chambers, reinforcing and justifying whatever position is being advocated. It makes sense if the goal is to grow an audience, but it comes at a steep price.
Today, there is little that remains of the moderate middle, meaning conservative Democrats or liberal Republicans. Everything is being funneled either to the very left or the very right. In and of itself, this is not necessarily a new thing. What is new is our unwillingness to be challenged with new information and facts, or to consider anything that might suggest that we were wrong, incorrect, hypocritical, biased to ill-informed.
When presented (not confronted) with new information or facts that challenge what I think, rather than entertain the idea that my existing view might be wrong, I dismiss the information itself as “fake news,” “spin” or “propaganda” — and I hold the source of that information in contempt. Once we conclude that someone or some group is deliberately trying to deceive or mislead us, they naturally become the enemy.
This is where contempt hardens. At that point, we’ve largely eliminated the possibility that someone expressing an opposing opinion is simply doing so because they’ve lived a different set of life experiences than the ones that shaped us. In recent years, we’ve decided that we no longer need to listen, or to compromise or concede anything.
Yet, most people I encounter on a daily basis are tired of all the yelling, hatred, division and contempt. The hard part is deciding how best to move forward, and the answer is not obvious or easy. I suspect that it would help to take a more charitable and nuanced view of those who hold different opinions from ours.
Not that long ago, I was reading a blurb about a commencement speech that President John F. Kennedy gave at American University in June 1963. At the time, it did not get much attention domestically, but it did have an impact around the globe. In the years since, the remarks have taken on greater weight in the context of the Cold War going on when they were delivered. Kennedy advocated a lessening of hostilities with the Soviet Union and suspension of nuclear testing.
What caught my attention was what JFK said about the Soviets at a time when they were thought of as evil: “No government or social system is so evil that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue… .Let us not be blind to our differences — but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And, if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.”
This was a radical idea in 1963. In some circles, it was seen as blasphemy. But beyond simply tolerating the Russians, JFK suggested something much more when he said, “As Americans, we find communism profoundly repugnant as a negation of personal freedom and dignity. But we can still hail the Russian people for their many achievements — in science and space, in economic and industrial growth, in culture and in acts of courage.”
In our current moment, we’re talking about our neighbors and fellow citizens. Let’s make our nation safe for diversity of thought and action, and perhaps hail the accomplishments of our fellow citizens. It’s a start.
Albert B. Kelly is the mayor of Bridgeton. Contact him by phone at 856-455-3230 Ext. 200.
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