We have heard little more than “Us” and “Them” talk in America for the last sixteen years and more. This is exacerbated by the Trump Presidency that started Friday because his rhetoric is polar and polarizing.
I have seen several lists on Facebook, posted sadly, by Christians I know, that want to categorize everyone as Left or Right. I honestly can never keep these two sides apart, never knowing which side is what. The lists usually have things like:
Left Right
Liberal Conservative
Big government Small government
Controlled Economy Free economy
Man is basically good Man was born sinful
Etc.
I will state here the problem with these lists: They do not actually apply to anyone. No one actually lives in these exclusive categories or sides. Because people have an infinite number of nuances and are able to live quite happily with large amounts of cognitive dissonance there is much common ground that lists and labels do not allow. The common ground, not the categories and labels, should be the talking points
Let’s say for ease of discussion that the Left is Atheist (pardon the over simplification) and the Right is Theist (again, pardon the over simplification). Remember these are only labels for clarity so I can keep these two sides straight in my head and you, dear reader, can see the points without having to wonder which side is which.
The Theist and the Atheist are in fact opposites. Obviously one believes in a god and the other does not (thank you Greece for creating the “a” opposite prefix). The rest is not so clear cut as the lists or the rhetoric try to portray.
An example: Both the Atheist and the Theist would believe there are too many homeless people living in the streets. Both would probably support organizations that would help these people. It is true the Theist may put more money into the Union Gospel Mission than the Atheist who may put their money in the Alouette Home Start Society but both are trying to help.
Another method the Theist and Atheist have used, in Canada, as in most of the world, is universal health care, implemented several decades ago to help all people. This also helps the homeless in several ways both in health outcomes and, in the fact, no one in Canada becomes homeless because of the cost of health care, contrasting the US health care system where the number one cause of bankruptcy is health care costs. This is a “big government” solution that both Atheists and Theists in Canada have no problem with—common ground.
The Theist and Atheist may disagree on why the people are homeless. The Theist may believe they are lazy and good for nothing moochers (as seems the Christian rhetoric I keep hearing) and the Atheist may believe these people have just had a whole bunch of bad luck and no fault of their own. The actual reasons they are there is as varied as there are numbers of homeless. The Theist and the Atheist can put their personal and government voting resources into whatever organization or group moves in the direction they agree with.
Another example is the “free economy” or the “government controlled economy”. The lists have the Theist as a free economy supporter and the Atheist always wanting government control of the economy. The fact is both want their economic ideals supported and the other’s unsupported. It may be generally true that the Atheist would rather have larger social programs and the Theist smaller ones but also true the Theist often want government to interfere (at least in the current republican version of government) in the lives of people on abortion and birth control where the Atheist wants the government to stay out of these decisions. The Atheist may want the government to support wind power and the Theist tax breaks for business but these are both government control of the economy and only a deference in emphasis.
Labeling is done for simplification and self-reinforcement. It is much easier to feel good about yourself if everyone stays in the labels you agree on. You can talk with your friends (“us”) and point at “them” and have a common language, complaint, or laugh. But this is only superficial and stops discussion of issues beyond that. It allows the meme and the four second soundbite to be the only method of communication, preventing any realization that there is a huge amount of common ground between “us” and “them”. We have a large amount of human and financial resources that could help in homelessness, the economy, and many other areas but we need to start at the common ground and stop labeling, boxing, and closing out others.
Our community, society, and democracy need to discuss common ground and stop labeling “them” as the opposite of “us”. Beyond some really basic stuff, Atheist v. Theist, which rarely affects our everyday lives, we live a common life in a common society with common problems. Let’s start with the commonality. We need to do this most with people who disagree with us; more than the people who agree. Democracy is the average all around and cannot function without it.
Hark 