“We are bound up in a delicate network of interdependence because a person is a person through other persons. To dehumanize another inevitably means that one is dehumanized as well…Thus, to forgive is indeed the best form of self-interest since anger, resentment, and revenge are corrosive of that summer bonum, that most excellent good, communal harmony that enhances the humanity and personhood of all in the community.”
— Bishop Desmond Tutu, the architect of Reconciliation in South Africa, on forgiveness and the perils of dehumanizing.” —
The recent political ordeal, which we all endured, was a dehumanizing experience. It affected me deeply, as I’m sure it did for everyone who participated or suffered from it. Each of us, every person I know, and perhaps every person in the country was dehumanized by one side or the other. We were called evil, dishonest, stupid, dangerous, and destructive. These labels, hurled at us by different individuals, left wounds that may take a long time to heal.
I was deeply moved by Bishop Tutu’s Truth and Reconciliation work, which he undertook to humanize his country and show the rest of us the way. There is no magic wand for hatred and cruelty. But it’s the best idea I’ve come across. We are tearing social harmony, the heart of our culture, to pieces. The people who dehumanize others are dehumanizing themselves. There are no winners.
Every name we hurl at others comes right back on us. Just look in the mirror. Hate is a poison.
Reconciliation may not heal everyone and everything, but as Nelson Mandela wrote, ‘In its bearings, Desmond Tutu and the idea of forgiveness conveyed our common pain and sorry, our hope and confidence in the future.’ This campaign reminds us of our individual responsibility in the process of reconciliation. It’s a call to action, urging us to stop and think. It’s time to start somewhere to unite rather than divide our country.
This change can’t be initiated from the top, and it is not right now. It begins at the bottom, with each one of us. I’m in. Every day of the past month has corrupted all of us and stained our democracy, but we have the power to change that.
There is no alternative to change. (Speaking only for me.)
So glad you’re writing about reconciliation. We all should start with self-examination. And follow the steps known to most religions to change. And the “elite” (so called ) among us must attune to the other, the maga, among us. The smug too need to confront the lack of JUSTICE+address many Trump followers who were and are being steamrolled by the new economy, urban schizophrenia twd the rural dwellers, snide+snotty self-described pundits’s misinterpreting Trump followers’ beliefs, values, motivations — not caring enough to plumb their lives.
When you write “There is no alternative to change,” Jon, you are correct. We must always remember that change is inevitable—except from a vending machine!
Thank you Bob