Will the sun rise on Wednesday? It is not a question we usually ask, but the importance of this election has me wondering. The way that many yesterdays have been described, it really seems that the fate of tomorrow hangs in the balance. Tomorrow, a corporate decision will choose which person will step into a position to potentially change the course of a civilization.
Perhaps I am building up the importance of this presidential contest. But can you blame me with the way people talk about it? [Barack] Obama and [John] McCain seem pitted against each other as if they were engaged in a cosmic battle where the winner decides which way the world will spin. I am pretty sure despite the persistent pleading of partisan pundits, none of you really believe that either candidate is as evil or insipid as their opposition characterizes them.
Take five minutes to walk in the shoes of the candidate that you are least inclined to support. Is it really so hard to see why some believe that a woman’s right to choose or the legal recognition of same sex marriage is a matter of human rights? Can we imagine that affirmative action and raising taxes seems like an infringement of sorts? What would you do if the government, in any form, made a decision that went against the moral and social sensibilities that you formed your identity? I believe that participating in this thought experiment is the first step to fixing the problems of our world, our neighborhoods, and even our campus. When the smoke clears Wednesday morning, we will have many choices before us. We can hammer each other with the blunt ends of our own perspectives. Or we can put “the other,” “the stranger,” and even “the enemy” before ourselves and serve them.
A while back, I read a blog that encouraged people to make a conscious effort, for a week, to only read books and articles that were authored by women. A number of people, mainly men, refused the challenge because it was sexist, but I think those up to the challenge learn where true sexism lies. Similar enlightenment has been offered by Morgan Spurlock’s “30 Days” challenge, where he exhorts people to spend a month in a vantage point with which they are wholly unfamiliar.
All this to say empathy is a powerful tool. It is the best check we have against our own selfish desires.
Now before one of my five readers writes back and encourages me to read Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, let me mention that there is something to be said about competition and personal ambition. But neither of those things are helpful when we intentionally hurt each other and ignore the needs of others.
If you do a quick survey on Facebook, you will undoubtedly find that many profiles have the Bible listed as a favorite book, the words of Ghandi under favorite quotations and friendship as the type of relationship they are looking for. Can you imagine if these Facebook profiles actually matched up with the actions of their authors? Think about the type of change that would happen if you did some random act of kindness for that person you wrote about on juicycampus.com. What if an atheist offered good advice to religious people and a fundamentalist stopped proselytizing long enough to hear that atheist out? I hope that the sun rises on Wednesday because I would like to find out what such a day looks like.
Richard Newton is a student at the Perkins School of Theology. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
