I SUPPOSE it’s basic and
commonsensical that when we
express our opinions and engage among ourselves in some exchanges of
our personal views, ideas and preferences, we always need to be
courteous first of all and then always to be constructive and positive
in our tack.
Upholding unity and living the requirements of charity
rank far higher than simply wanting to be right or to score a point in
any given contention. We should never forget this principle.
Especially in the area of politics, where opinions vary
due to the immense variety of people’s preferences, we should see to
it that the tone of our discourse is kept calm and respectful. Given
the volatile character of politics, we should learn how to hold our
horses, so as not to be carried away by our unbridled and intemperate
passions and biases.
In the first place, we cannot be too strong or too sure
about our political opinions because no matter how right we feel we
are, we certainly do not have the exclusive right to possess all the
truth. Everyone always has something valid to say, no matter how
small.
And in the second place, there simply are just too many
unknown factors that are at play. We cannot account for everything no
matter how smart and diligent we are in building up our position.
And in the third place, we simply have to learn to live
with imperfect persons and candidates, as well as imperfect systems
and structures. We cannot be too simplistic as to paint our favoured
candidate is entirely saintly, completely incapable of committing a
mistake and our undesired candidate is entirely devious, completely
incapable to doing anything good.
The least thing that we can do is not to be too attached
to our ideas and our preferences. While it’s true that we somehow
shape our destiny, that task is always a joint effort among ourselves
and ultimately between God and us. Never ignore the indications of
divine providence, the promptings of the Holy Spirit who is the Lord
of history.
That is why, we can never have a political discourse that
is fit for human beings, let alone, children of God, if it is not
preceded, accompanied and followed up by prayer and sacrifice,
together with due study and consultations.
Without these fundamental requirements we end up attacking
each other like cats and dogs. And that’s what’s happening these days.
In the heat of the political polemics, we are witnessing a lot of
shooting from the hip, bullying, gloating, obsession to dominate,
dogmatizing opinions, fault-finding, casuistry, mocking, mudslinging,
etc. There’s a lot of tit-for-tat, the law of Talion reigning supreme.
As a consequence, the air gets polluted, proper thinking
and judging is hampered. Passions, tension and divisiveness escalate.
A perfect storm gathers.
Some people say that in politics, charity should not be
the main consideration, but rather the truth, arrived at through
gathering of facts and the strict use of reason and logic. But if we
examine closely the allegations, we hardly find any truth that is not
tarred by a litany of fallacies.
This is the real problem. When charity is set aside and is
considered irrelevant in our political discussions, we are actually
setting ourselves for a bigger trouble. It is precisely because of the
peculiar character of politics, so vulnerable to deteriorate and to
hit the skids, that charity should be the primary consideration as it
should be in everything else in life.
We have to learn to be open-minded and tactful in our
dialogues, motivated only by love for God and for everyone else, which
is what the common good is all about in the end. We have to learn to
be delicate in expressing our views as well as not to be too
onion-skinned to receive the positions of others, especially the
adverse ones.
We should try our best to listen most attentively to the
others, get to know them very well and discern where they are coming
from when they express their opinions. If they sound unreasonable or
ridiculous and would even attack us, we should not feel provoked and
tempted to mount some personal attacks. That would not help. Rather it
will worsen things.
What we have to do is to help them see our point as calmly
and as charitably as possible. If they do not accept it, then let it
be. We have to learn to disagree without being disagreeable, always
maintaining a healthy attitude towards everyone.
In the end, we should not forget that there is divine
providence that will guide things to the proper end in spite of our
blunders and stupidities.
express our opinions and engage among ourselves in some exchanges of
our personal views, ideas and preferences, we always need to be
courteous first of all and then always to be constructive and positive
in our tack.
Upholding unity and living the requirements of charity
rank far higher than simply wanting to be right or to score a point in
any given contention. We should never forget this principle.
Especially in the area of politics, where opinions vary
due to the immense variety of people’s preferences, we should see to
it that the tone of our discourse is kept calm and respectful. Given
the volatile character of politics, we should learn how to hold our
horses, so as not to be carried away by our unbridled and intemperate
passions and biases.
In the first place, we cannot be too strong or too sure
about our political opinions because no matter how right we feel we
are, we certainly do not have the exclusive right to possess all the
truth. Everyone always has something valid to say, no matter how
small.
And in the second place, there simply are just too many
unknown factors that are at play. We cannot account for everything no
matter how smart and diligent we are in building up our position.
And in the third place, we simply have to learn to live
with imperfect persons and candidates, as well as imperfect systems
and structures. We cannot be too simplistic as to paint our favoured
candidate is entirely saintly, completely incapable of committing a
mistake and our undesired candidate is entirely devious, completely
incapable to doing anything good.
The least thing that we can do is not to be too attached
to our ideas and our preferences. While it’s true that we somehow
shape our destiny, that task is always a joint effort among ourselves
and ultimately between God and us. Never ignore the indications of
divine providence, the promptings of the Holy Spirit who is the Lord
of history.
That is why, we can never have a political discourse that
is fit for human beings, let alone, children of God, if it is not
preceded, accompanied and followed up by prayer and sacrifice,
together with due study and consultations.
Without these fundamental requirements we end up attacking
each other like cats and dogs. And that’s what’s happening these days.
In the heat of the political polemics, we are witnessing a lot of
shooting from the hip, bullying, gloating, obsession to dominate,
dogmatizing opinions, fault-finding, casuistry, mocking, mudslinging,
etc. There’s a lot of tit-for-tat, the law of Talion reigning supreme.
As a consequence, the air gets polluted, proper thinking
and judging is hampered. Passions, tension and divisiveness escalate.
A perfect storm gathers.
Some people say that in politics, charity should not be
the main consideration, but rather the truth, arrived at through
gathering of facts and the strict use of reason and logic. But if we
examine closely the allegations, we hardly find any truth that is not
tarred by a litany of fallacies.
This is the real problem. When charity is set aside and is
considered irrelevant in our political discussions, we are actually
setting ourselves for a bigger trouble. It is precisely because of the
peculiar character of politics, so vulnerable to deteriorate and to
hit the skids, that charity should be the primary consideration as it
should be in everything else in life.
We have to learn to be open-minded and tactful in our
dialogues, motivated only by love for God and for everyone else, which
is what the common good is all about in the end. We have to learn to
be delicate in expressing our views as well as not to be too
onion-skinned to receive the positions of others, especially the
adverse ones.
We should try our best to listen most attentively to the
others, get to know them very well and discern where they are coming
from when they express their opinions. If they sound unreasonable or
ridiculous and would even attack us, we should not feel provoked and
tempted to mount some personal attacks. That would not help. Rather it
will worsen things.
What we have to do is to help them see our point as calmly
and as charitably as possible. If they do not accept it, then let it
be. We have to learn to disagree without being disagreeable, always
maintaining a healthy attitude towards everyone.
In the end, we should not forget that there is divine
providence that will guide things to the proper end in spite of our
blunders and stupidities.
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