The Opponents

It is not pleasant to turn on the news.
It does not matter which news channel you prefer, the hostility is palpable.
We seemed to have lost the art of civil discourse.
We have drawn our lines in the sand deeper than ever.

There are hot button issues.
There are those things that you know are not wise topics of conversation.
There are issues that deeply divide even family members.
However, there was a time when you were able to agree to disagree.

In today’s culture, to disagree is not a right that anyone seems to have anymore.
In today’s culture, there is only one side of the fence.
Your side.
The other side is wrong and irrelevant.

Disagreement is not an option.
The goal is to get you to come to my side no matter the cost.
When you do not come over to my side, you are my enemy.
The lines in the sand are burrowing farther and father down.

I feel sorry for young parents who have to maneuver this political climate.
I imagine that the TV remains off most of the time.
What a child hears in the background still gets into his head.
We may never know the kind of conclusions he or she is drawing from the rhetoric they hear.

I remember 9/11.
My youngest daughter was in kindergarten.
My oldest daughter was a senior in high school, with my other children in between.
I was so careful not to have the news on in the background during that time.

Young children see the replay of events and think that they are happening in real time.
They have no way of discerning the difference.
Young parents have to be so careful.
The daily rhetoric is an assault on stillness and civility.

That is why I was so delighted when a friend shared a video.

In northern Vermont, two candidates are running for the seat in the State House.
Green signs, supporting the Democrat candidate, who is a woman, are on many lawns.
Red, white, and blue signs, supporting the Republican candidate, who is a man, are also seen.
Both candidates are doing all they can possibly do to win this election.

There are 2,000 homes in their district.
They have vowed to visit each and every home.
You will see both of them knocking on doors.
They are going door to door to ask people for their vote.

No one in the district expected what happened between the two opponents one evening.
A debate was scheduled between the two candidates.
The debate was held at the local public library.
The candidates asked the moderator for a few minutes at the end of the debate.

Furniture was moved.
The candidates kept their plans to themselves.
Even the moderator had no idea what was about to happen.
Both candidates sat down, one with a guitar and one with a cello.

The two candidates, political and ideological opponents, played a duet.
They sang a song together that was about a deep yearning for a less competitive society.
They played their instruments together.
They blended their voices together.

It was exactly what was needed.
The Democrat and the Republican were united in perfect harmony.
For the duration of the song, they were not opponents.
They were each a part of a beautiful duet.

The people in their district were so pleased.
In their minds, each candidate was a winner.
The duet impacted the people so much that something new was seen on many lawns.
On the front lawns of many houses, signs for both candidates were displayed.

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 2:24,25)

I watched the video and I longed for that same unity.
I longed for a time out.
I longed for the ugly rhetoric to end.
I longed for a beautiful duet to begin.

Can you imagine if opponents played music together?
Even a kazoo would do.
Something that would require them to put down their boxing gloves.
Something that would require them to pick up the bow, or the drumsticks, or the flute.

Can you imagine the music that would be made?
Can you imagine the beautiful sound that would be heard when the yelling stops?
Can you hear the music?
Music of kindness, politeness, and civility.

We have forgotten how to talk civilly to one another.
We have forgotten that the person on the other side is indeed a person.
We have made the rhetoric the most important thing.
We have forgotten how to be kind.

The news report on the Vermont election declared a landslide victory.
They declared a landslide victory for civility.
Can you imagine?
Perhaps we should keep a few kazoos in our pocket just in case.

2 responses to “The Opponents”

1. Oh how I yearn for the “old days” when politics was civil. I’ve never seen things as they are now with such polarization and mean-spiritedness. Surely not the way God wants us to behave. Your post is right-on and the video was inspiring.

   Reply

   • Sue, I agree.
     We need more civility.
     We need to listen to each other.
     Perhaps we need to keep a kazoo or two handy in our pockets!
     Gina

     Reply