Ponder that thought for a moment…
Of all that’s been said and written in the last two weeks… hashed and rehashed… ranted and raved… and the whole range of expressed and unexpressed emotion in our country — surprise, shock, glee, despair, fear, freedom, and so much more…
For all that’s been written, all that’s been said, this is a wild time for listening.
Few disciplines have greater value. Few behaviors teach us more. I speak not of just being silent, contemplating a reply — but rather being still… being intent on interacting, hearing, considering, and genuinely weighing the words and heart of another… being teachable… being willing and humble enough to recognize where we are off and where we could grow. Listening is an unquestionable virtue.
As author and activist Bryant H. McGill said, “One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.”
Exactly. Listening and respect always go together.
And yet over the past two weeks, people have justified omitting both.
People have justified concluding that listening and respect are no longer necessary if we disagree.
“… My passions are strong. My perspective is valid.”
I get it. And I applaud it. Each perspective is valid. And the diversity of our collective perspectives spurs us on as individuals and as a nation. But a valid perspective is lessened when listening is eliminated in the process.
The Intramuralist will never applaud dismissing the words and heart of a person simply because another comes from a varied theological, social, or ethnic background. The moment we justify such is the moment we stunt our very own growth… and the moment we have become the intolerant.
Tolerance does not equate to accepting all things as equally good, true, and right. But tolerance does mean being willing to co-exist with those who think differently than “me.” It means sincerely being willing to interact with persons of varied theological, social, and ethnic backgrounds. If I am only willing to respectfully dialogue with persons who think like me — regardless of what demographic categories another falls into — than I am by no means tolerant. Tolerance — and listening — mean that neither what a person looks like or how they think is a barrier to respectful dialogue.
And yet each of us, all around us at this time, have people tugging on our sleeves and ears, suggesting (not always so subtly) that another person is not worth it.
That is disturbing.
When we advocate for something less than listening, we dismiss the worth of another person. When we dismiss the worth of other persons in God’s creation, we get puffed up. And when we get puffed up, we are the ones who fail to learn and grow.
It’s been a wild time for listening these last two weeks. In too many places, it doesn’t exist.
May we always advocate for what’s better and more.
Respectfully…
AR