For some people, the word “humanity” is an abstract word that has almost no significance; by one definition, it refers to all the people of the world. But humanity has another more consequential meaning: humanity defines those attributes that make us truly human, like empathy, compassion, kindness, and altruism. In these chaotic and dangerous times, we face losing our humanity because of our dislike, even abhorrence of, the left.
It’s not that the left hasn’t earned our wrath in abundance. Many stories have been printed, for example, about the people who have celebrated the murder of Charlie Kirk:
Two faculty members at East Tennessee State University were placed on administrative review after reportedly writing celebratory posts about Kirk’s murder. NBC News reported that one faculty member allegedly wrote, ‘you reap what you sow’ Another allegedly wrote, ‘This isn’t a tragedy. It’s a victory.’
It’s easy to become obsessed with this viciousness, letting loose with a diatribe about the recklessness of the left. But it’s also important to note that many of these people have suffered the social consequences of their actions, as they should. Yet, when we focus on their viciousness, we are unable to connect to these people, we make them the “other,” the enemy. That’s a normal reaction, but when we demonize them, even if it’s only in our minds, we increase polarization, shred our own humanity, and damage our soul. We are imitating the worst of their behavior.
You may wonder if I’m suggesting that you embrace these people; that would be, for most of us, unrealistic. And I’m not even suggesting that you try to imitate Charlie Kirk by having reasonable discussions with them; it may be almost impossible for some of us to do that.
But we can do something else: reframe our understanding of the left. We can recognize their delusion, their fear, their rage—but this does not mean we justify it. For those of us who are religious, we can remind ourselves that they, too, are created in God’s image. Hate the sin, not the sinner.
You might resent this suggestion. Why would you want to contemplate the left at all, when they have been so cruel and mindless? Why would you want to see them in a less negative light?
The facts are that as long as we prolong and feed our anger and theirs, the situation will only continue to escalate. We will be helping them, by justifying their actions with our own radical responses. We have to step back, take a deep breath, and not sacrifice our humanity to our own outrage. We may choose to dialogue with them, but we may initially choose not to do so, until the temperature is lowered.
We must preserve our own humanity and souls. It’s the only place to start.
Image generated by AI.