Types of people
15/02/24 01:32
There is a joke that goes, “There are two types of people in the world: those who believe that there are two types of people and those . . .”
When I tell the joke, I generally don’t need to finish the sentence, the punchline delivers itself. Depending on my audience, the joke will get a few laughs. The problem with the joke, however, is that I don’t believe that there are only two types of people in the world, and I don’t want people to think that I do. I tend to follow-up the joke with some kind of an explanation that makes it clear that I find people to be a fascinating medley of almost infinite variety. Even in our highly-polarized post-pandemic political world, it is a gross oversimplification to say that there are only two sides to any issue.
There are Republicans who voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 who will not vote for him this year. There are Democrats who voted for Hillary in 2016, but who intend to vote for Trump this year. There is a significant number of voters who have not changed their opinion of the candidates for the presidency with the likely repeat of the choice when November rolls around.
For all of my life, and much longer than that, there have been issues that divided people. There have been intense feelings about those issues and fierce loyalties to different causes. There have been widely different interpretations of history and of current events. If one wants to study such things, and many have, there is a big difference between disagreement and demonizing the opposition. There is a big difference between campaigning to win a political contest and cheating.
It does seem, however, that we live in an era where cheating abounds and where both sides in most political debates are quick to accuse the other side of cheating. Whether or not it is objectively true, it certainly feels like there is a significant rise in the demonization of opposition in the current political debate. And that feels dangerous. It has already led to violence. People in the public eye receive serious death threats.
Violence always begets more violence. Current events in Gaza and the world’s reaction to those events is a clear example. There is no question that Hamas engaged in cruel violence aimed at innocent civilians in the attack on Israel last October. The taking of hostages was a clear case of gross violation of human rights and international standards. It was shocking and cruel. The reaction of Israel to the attacks has also been violent. The targeting of civilians, the refusal to allow food and medical supplies to reach the most vulnerable, the huge toll of casualties, and the creation of refugees who are trapped in battle zones are also violations of human rights and international standards.
That situation, however, does not justify violence in reaction to political acts and statements about either side in the conflict. Still, there has been violence and threats of violence on college campuses and other places of public debate since the beginning of the conflict. Those who speak out about the situation try to be clear in their condemnation of violence, but they have become the targets of violent acts because of having expressed their opinion. People in the public eye have lost their jobs and suffered continuing threats because of their statements, including cases of mis-speaking when apologies were issued. It seems as if rational discussion of the situation is nearly impossible amidst the constant barrage of shouting and threats.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
I have often held political views that were different from my friends and neighbors. I’ve voted in every presidential election since I became old enough to vote and I’m old enough for that to be a lot of elections. Only once in my life, however, have the electors that represented my state voted the way I did. From one perspective it might be argued that my vote didn’t make any difference in the results of the national contest. From another, it shows that I have had to live with neighbors who hold different political opinions than I. Beyond simply living in the same community as those with whom I disagree, I have had many opportunities to work shoulder to shoulder with people who see things differently than I. I count myself in the “never Trump” camp, but I am grateful to the neighbor who has multiple Trump bumper stickers on his truck and who wears a MAGA cap who graciously offered his assistance when I got my truck stuck in the mud. Despite what you might conclude from media reports, we don’t hate each other. Neither of us wants the other to leave our neighborhood.
I have no desire to live in a place where everyone is the same. I am retired, but I really don’t want to move to a retirement community. I love living on a street where there are lots of children. I am delighted that the teenager across the street plays basketball in the middle of the street long after my bedtime. I don’t mind that he occasionally is careless about parking his car in front of my driveway. I am amused by the variety of standards in lawn care in our neighborhood. Our houses don’t all look the same. The landscaping of our lawns varies widely as does the length of our grass. I’m delighted to wait for the school bus loading or unloading students when I head out to run errands. I pray for the safety of all of those students and I hope they all grow up to become citizens and participants in our shared political life. I delight in the different accents I hear in the grocery store. I am fascinated by the religious beliefs and practices of my non-Christian neighbors. I don’t want to surround myself only with people who are like me.
There are more than two types of people in this world. And for that I am grateful.
When I tell the joke, I generally don’t need to finish the sentence, the punchline delivers itself. Depending on my audience, the joke will get a few laughs. The problem with the joke, however, is that I don’t believe that there are only two types of people in the world, and I don’t want people to think that I do. I tend to follow-up the joke with some kind of an explanation that makes it clear that I find people to be a fascinating medley of almost infinite variety. Even in our highly-polarized post-pandemic political world, it is a gross oversimplification to say that there are only two sides to any issue.
There are Republicans who voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 who will not vote for him this year. There are Democrats who voted for Hillary in 2016, but who intend to vote for Trump this year. There is a significant number of voters who have not changed their opinion of the candidates for the presidency with the likely repeat of the choice when November rolls around.
For all of my life, and much longer than that, there have been issues that divided people. There have been intense feelings about those issues and fierce loyalties to different causes. There have been widely different interpretations of history and of current events. If one wants to study such things, and many have, there is a big difference between disagreement and demonizing the opposition. There is a big difference between campaigning to win a political contest and cheating.
It does seem, however, that we live in an era where cheating abounds and where both sides in most political debates are quick to accuse the other side of cheating. Whether or not it is objectively true, it certainly feels like there is a significant rise in the demonization of opposition in the current political debate. And that feels dangerous. It has already led to violence. People in the public eye receive serious death threats.
Violence always begets more violence. Current events in Gaza and the world’s reaction to those events is a clear example. There is no question that Hamas engaged in cruel violence aimed at innocent civilians in the attack on Israel last October. The taking of hostages was a clear case of gross violation of human rights and international standards. It was shocking and cruel. The reaction of Israel to the attacks has also been violent. The targeting of civilians, the refusal to allow food and medical supplies to reach the most vulnerable, the huge toll of casualties, and the creation of refugees who are trapped in battle zones are also violations of human rights and international standards.
That situation, however, does not justify violence in reaction to political acts and statements about either side in the conflict. Still, there has been violence and threats of violence on college campuses and other places of public debate since the beginning of the conflict. Those who speak out about the situation try to be clear in their condemnation of violence, but they have become the targets of violent acts because of having expressed their opinion. People in the public eye have lost their jobs and suffered continuing threats because of their statements, including cases of mis-speaking when apologies were issued. It seems as if rational discussion of the situation is nearly impossible amidst the constant barrage of shouting and threats.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
I have often held political views that were different from my friends and neighbors. I’ve voted in every presidential election since I became old enough to vote and I’m old enough for that to be a lot of elections. Only once in my life, however, have the electors that represented my state voted the way I did. From one perspective it might be argued that my vote didn’t make any difference in the results of the national contest. From another, it shows that I have had to live with neighbors who hold different political opinions than I. Beyond simply living in the same community as those with whom I disagree, I have had many opportunities to work shoulder to shoulder with people who see things differently than I. I count myself in the “never Trump” camp, but I am grateful to the neighbor who has multiple Trump bumper stickers on his truck and who wears a MAGA cap who graciously offered his assistance when I got my truck stuck in the mud. Despite what you might conclude from media reports, we don’t hate each other. Neither of us wants the other to leave our neighborhood.
I have no desire to live in a place where everyone is the same. I am retired, but I really don’t want to move to a retirement community. I love living on a street where there are lots of children. I am delighted that the teenager across the street plays basketball in the middle of the street long after my bedtime. I don’t mind that he occasionally is careless about parking his car in front of my driveway. I am amused by the variety of standards in lawn care in our neighborhood. Our houses don’t all look the same. The landscaping of our lawns varies widely as does the length of our grass. I’m delighted to wait for the school bus loading or unloading students when I head out to run errands. I pray for the safety of all of those students and I hope they all grow up to become citizens and participants in our shared political life. I delight in the different accents I hear in the grocery store. I am fascinated by the religious beliefs and practices of my non-Christian neighbors. I don’t want to surround myself only with people who are like me.
There are more than two types of people in this world. And for that I am grateful.
