Are You Sick of Politics? for Friday, 9 June 2017 - Rabbi Evan Moffic - Congregation Solel in Highland Park, Illinois, United States
A Jewish comedian once captured my people’s tendency for worry and anxiety.
“A Jewish telegram,” he said, “begins with the words: Start Worrying….Details to follow.”
This motto also describes our television and internet news sites. We are bombarded with urgent calls to get worried…and get angry. Whatever our politics, we are supposed to be up in arms, angry at the other side, and ready to fight at all times.
One of my intellectual heroes—Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute—calls this the politics of contempt. Contempt for the other side is lauded as a virtue.
Here’s one way to fight this tendency without sacrificing what we believe. Take a pen and piece of paper (or open a new document on your computer) and write out the arguments for another person’s point of view. It could be the other side of an issue or political principle about which you feel strongly.
Like you, I have strong convictions about the our culture and society. Seeing the other’s point of view does not change my mind. Rather, it enhances empathy for the other side.
Someone who disagrees with us is not an enemy. He or she is a human being, also created in God’s image.
Even if we hope to convince someone of our point of view, we need to understand where they are coming from. We need to understand before we can understood.
Empathy will not only improve civility in our culture. It will make us feel better and more resolute.
Give it a try. And you can continue support my efforts to bring understanding and empathy to our culture by pre-ordering my upcoming book: The Happiness Prayer: Ancient Jewish Wisdom for the Best Way to Live Today.
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Rabbi Evan Moffic
evan@rabbi.me
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Rabbi Evan Moffic
Congregation Solel
1301 Clavey Road
Highland Park, Illinois 60035, United States
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