After the insurrection at the Capitol last Wednesday, CNN commentator Van Jones asked an essential question, “Is this the end of something? Or the beginning of something? Is this the death throes of something ugly in our country, desperate, about to go away … or is this the birth pains of a worse disorder? That's where we are right now tonight. And I think the country has got to make a decision." As predictable as the events of January 6 should have been, they have forced us to make a choice. And we should all take a deep breath and a hard look at ourselves, as a society and as individuals, before proceeding. We can let the cultural tides take us where they will, believing it is all out of our control and thus settling for protecting our own interests and those of our affiliated groups as we go along for the ride. Or we can choose to turn the tide, which will require moving from ideological warfare to creative engagement around our shared values and goals.
It was infuriating to so many of us to watch the Capitol siege unfold with no major law enforcement response for hours. The stark difference to the Black Lives Matter protests over the summer, when officers from every law enforcement agency blanketed the city for peaceful protests, provides all the evidence anyone should need to acknowledge white privilege and the injustice that still plagues our society. And then watching so many of our elected officials still choose to contest the results of a legitimate election even after the Capitol mob exposed the very real danger of nurturing unsubstantiated election fraud claims for political gain, the fury grew.
The fact that our robust democratic institutions continue to hold after assault upon assault over the last four years should reassure us all. Congress returned to the battered Capitol building hours after the mob violence to complete their constitutional duty. Even though many have been skeptical of the motives of a self-serving President in his judicial appointments, the courts have repeatedly upheld the Constitution over the last four years and the legitimate election results over the past two months.
Our institutions remain strong. But what about us? Depending on how we direct it, that fury we feel can drive us either to real change or to civil war. Stepping out of the emotions of the last week (or years) and into a creativity or innovation mindset can help us choose the former. Specifically, if we activate our empathy, loosen our grip on our ideologies, and leverage our assets, we have a real chance at forging new horizons for our democracy in changing times.
Without empathy, the chasms we already feel between “us” and “them,” however defined, will only deepen. Empathy is the bridge. It doesn’t mean we agree or feel sympathy for harmful perspectives. It also doesn’t mean we don’t hold people and institutions accountable for their actions. White supremacy, like what showed up at the Capitol last week, and those who have nurtured it, do not get a pass. It does mean we honor the humanity in each other. In a December op-ed in the Washington Post, four researchers explain how empathy concretely helps people change their perspectives and find common ground: it helps us understand each other, it’s a proven persuasion tactic, and without it, we end up in a “lose-lose spiral.”
“Empathy can seem like a privilege when people’s rights or safety are threatened, and, of course, no one owes empathy to anyone else. But surprising things can happen when people decide to lead with empathy... Empathy is not a weakness. Listening with genuine curiosity can disarm people and open them to seeing things differently. Although grim times can tempt people to abandon empathy, surviving our divisions might require us all to choose it.”
We also must distinguish between our values and our ideologies, holding strongly to the former and loosely to the latter. The Capitol rioters kept shouting about freedom. That is a value we all share, so maybe we start there - what does it mean to be free? … who gets to be free? … how do we know we are free? … when is it acceptable to constrain freedom? … what do we do if we think core freedoms (like a free election) are being curtailed? There can be no conversation with a violent mob, of course, especially one that can’t tell fact from fiction. It deserves only condemnation. But for every person that chose to storm the Capitol, many more reject violence. If we step out of our ideological bunkers for a moment, we may still disagree, but we may also find a way to move forward together. In 2018, Bob Boisture, President of the Fetzer institute, wrote in the Stanford Social Innovation Review about toxic polarization in the U.S. and the “heart-level challenge” of moving toward a shared moral vision across our political lines of division. He outlined five civic virtues by which we should measure our progress.
“The test must be whether our actions as citizens embody the core civic virtues essential to a free society.
Do we recognize the sacred dignity and worth of every person?
Do we bring to civic life a wholehearted commitment to the greater good?
Do we admit that we are fallible and must therefore be open to having those with whom we disagree change our minds?
Do we embrace principled compromise as an essential civic virtue?
Do we recognize that we are all in this together and that in the long run, none of us can flourish unless all of us flourish?”
Finally, we cannot let doomscrolling guide our focus. All of the good things that were happening to advance peace, justice, equality, progress before January 6 continue. As mentioned, our democratic institutions still stand strong. And while we must, with open eyes and humble hearts, confront the America that showed up at the Capitol last week, so too should we remember that we are still a uniquely and beautifully diverse country where, at our best, people from all races, religions, and viewpoints live as neighbors, work together, help each other out, and build better communities together. We must reckon with our deep and persistent flaws. The path to change, though, will be found in bolstering our greatest assets.
We have a lot of work to do, but let us start today by choosing optimism. It’s tempting to drown in despair at the events of the last week, on top of the last few years, and the seemingly monumental task of overcoming the forces at work in our society that have brought us to this day. But we need only summon what makes us strong to find the confidence that we have all we need to succeed. Eboo Patel, Founder and President of the Interfaith Youth Core, shared some thoughts last week to help us root ourselves in strength:
“Diversity, dignity, possibility – a variety of voices singing, and being heard. That is what it means to be in America. There’s been some distortion the past four years, and a brazen attempt at silencing in the last week, but as Whitman said, “I Hear America Singing”. That song is beautiful. We need to turn up the volume and join in. ”
The events of January 2021 may not prove to be the last gasp of white supremacy or even political polarization in the US. They certainly won’t do so in the near term. But if we choose wisely, we can ensure that this moment becomes a turning point in history. If it is the first spark of something, let’s make sure the fire to come burns brightly with newfound will and vision for a better country, not dangerously with uncontrollable fury and hatred for each other.
Read the full article by Jamil Zaki, Robb Willer, Jan Gerrit Voelkel and Luiza Santos at washingtonpost.com. Read Bob Boisture’s full article at ssir.org. Read Eboo Patel’s full reflection at ifyc.org.