Do unto otherness as you would…
“When you have once seen the glow of happiness on the face of a beloved person, you know that a man can have no vocation but to awaken that light on the faces surrounding him. In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus
It’s really cold this morning.
I’m up early in my office reading the news. The stars are out and the moon is bright. There’s hoar frost on the trees. The blanket of cloud cover that has kept temperatures near freezing has dissipated. The outdoor thermometer reads - 13 degrees Celsius.
Of course, I am reading about the U.S. political reality show and the worldwide tinderbox. And yes, it’s depressing.
What I have found most distressing since the early days of this movement is the absence of love of otherness.
The Greek philosopher Plato placed the tyrant as the worst human being because otherness had ceased to exist for him.
The love of one’s own people, culture and traditions is virtuous. It prompts us to be good parents, good neighbours and good citizens. The act of remembering our stories – those of our family, our culture or our nation is one of the most important things we can do.
But the tyrant takes such positives down a dark alleyway and twists them into something far less virtuous. Instead of curiosity and openness, he sees every change in tradition as a threat and he views non-tribe or new-tribe members with fear and hatred.
The world is facing real problems – complex ones requiring hard work and cooperation. The pandemic, climate change, economic turmoil, the challenge of earning a living wage, the impact of technology on relationships and mental health - these are all issues in need of sober, sustained, common effort.
But the tyrant always promises simple and draconian solutions making the terrifying far more plausible. From the beginning, we saw him mock the disabled, ridicule the parents of a slain soldier, objectify women. Entire ethnic groups were blamed and labelled as rapists, murderers or terrorists. Debate became impossible as truthfulness was emptied of all value in a stream of “hyperbole.”
For a man, whose character is so flawed, there is no otherness – there never has been. There is only the self.
The tyrant presses his digits (short as they may be) into the sensitive wound of fear and powerlessness - and evil manifests.
From the beginning, he whipped his crowds into states of resentful frenzy. The lies, racism, and hatred that fuel his most fervent followers are not new. What happened this week was the logical next step - and sadly not the last.
The contagion will continue to spread and, for all us smug Canadians, we should know that borders offer no protection.
But is there a vaccine for this movement?
Indeed, there is.
The vaccine is to be found in the heavy lifting of community involvement and political participation - at every level. It’s the painstaking protection of the norms of governance, robust group dynamics, and democratic decision-making.
It’s through a groundswell of engagement in arduous meetings, active listening, and respectful negotiations that we can stave off the rise of this contagion.
Because loving others means telling the truth and working through differences with empathy and integrity.
It’s a very public, participatory vaccine - and hermetic retreats (no matter how tempting) are of no help.
There is no grey area on this winter morning. Will you roll up your sleeves and see the beauty in otherness?
Pick a side.
You either choose to seek the invincible summer within or allow your heart to freeze.
