Like many the world over, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting after the US Presidential Election on Wednesday. Mostly it has been around why an event in another country on the other side of the Pacific has affected me so much. The conclusion I have come to is that this week fear, hatred and pride won. I believe it is only a temporary victory but it still hurts to see it occur.
Why do I say that? Because the now President-elect has built his campaign, not on policy but on fear. Fear of the unknown. And by doing so, he tapped into the fears of white working class America. Fear of immigrants taking their jobs. Fear of terrorism. Fear of losing their Second Amendment rights. And for evangelical Christians, the fear of babies being ripped from the wombs of their mothers so close to birth. It was emotionally charged speeches from a very rich powerful white man trying to capture (and succeeding it has to be said) the working class. It has been sad to see people, in their desperation to look after their families and in their frustration with a political system that seems to have neglected them for too long, embrace a candidate whose campaign has isolated, belittled, mocked, and ridiculed some many. Sad to see those working class embrace someone who divided his own party and who was endorsed by extremist organisations like the KKK.
But what can we learn from what has happened to make sure it doesn’t happen here in Aotearoa New Zealand or anywhere else? I think the best answer is to embrace the other. By embracing the other, we break down walls not build them. By embracing the other we are saying, “hey, you are important. You matter. I care about you”. And by doing that we destroy the illusion and false worldview that those who aren’t like us are out to get us.
The last two days have also seen me listening to a new podcast (Huia Come Home) about theology, Maori worldview & life in Aotearoa. The interviewee of the inaugural episode, Dr Alistair Reese I think hit the nail on the head. In talking about Maori and Pakeha living together in Aotearoa and honouring the Treaty of Waitangi, he used a marriage metaphor. He said that at the core of a marriage relationship is self sacrifice - a call to honour the other above yourself. So in terms of relationship with the others Dr Reese challenges us to ask two questions:
Why do I say that? Because the now President-elect has built his campaign, not on policy but on fear. Fear of the unknown. And by doing so, he tapped into the fears of white working class America. Fear of immigrants taking their jobs. Fear of terrorism. Fear of losing their Second Amendment rights. And for evangelical Christians, the fear of babies being ripped from the wombs of their mothers so close to birth. It was emotionally charged speeches from a very rich powerful white man trying to capture (and succeeding it has to be said) the working class. It has been sad to see people, in their desperation to look after their families and in their frustration with a political system that seems to have neglected them for too long, embrace a candidate whose campaign has isolated, belittled, mocked, and ridiculed some many. Sad to see those working class embrace someone who divided his own party and who was endorsed by extremist organisations like the KKK.
But what can we learn from what has happened to make sure it doesn’t happen here in Aotearoa New Zealand or anywhere else? I think the best answer is to embrace the other. By embracing the other, we break down walls not build them. By embracing the other we are saying, “hey, you are important. You matter. I care about you”. And by doing that we destroy the illusion and false worldview that those who aren’t like us are out to get us.
The last two days have also seen me listening to a new podcast (Huia Come Home) about theology, Maori worldview & life in Aotearoa. The interviewee of the inaugural episode, Dr Alistair Reese I think hit the nail on the head. In talking about Maori and Pakeha living together in Aotearoa and honouring the Treaty of Waitangi, he used a marriage metaphor. He said that at the core of a marriage relationship is self sacrifice - a call to honour the other above yourself. So in terms of relationship with the others Dr Reese challenges us to ask two questions:
- How can I live that will enable the other to prosper?
- What environment can I nurture that will enable them to be all that they can be?
The hope is that that will be reciprocated but it has to start with us first. I love the way he puts it and it can equally apply wherever we are in the world. If we look to create a society where the marginalised, where the minorities and the least of us are enabled to be all that they can be then we all benefit.
And that is what I want to move towards and what I believe we here in Aotearoa New Zealand, our fellow men and women in the US, the UK (when I think about their Brexit decision) and throughout the world should be moving towards. Let’s learn from what has happened in the US and use it to work towards building societies that embrace and encourage others. Through that we as individuals and as nations can grow and be blessed by learning from the “other” as they are enabled to be all they can be.
NOTE: I use the terms other, marginalised, minorities and the least of these. The best way I can define those terms is that they refer to people who aren’t like myself. So for me, as a white middle class university educated male I would see those terms as referring to all who aren’t like me, including people of other races, females, members of the LGBT community, the poor, the homeless and any other groups I may have missed. They are my brothers and sisters in the worldwide family of humanity and my desire is to embrace them and learn from them. I believe that I can become a better person by learning from them all.
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