To Rep. Heather Keeler, it’s all about “leading with love.” You can see it in her advocacy for the homeless and for a residential youth psychiatric facility for our region. The truth is, though, that some people are harder to love than others.
I’ve been thinking about that during this holiday season in light of the deepening political polarization in the country. Are we really called to love Trump voters? When the other side seems riven by misogyny, racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and who knows what other species of hatred, how do we find a way through? How do we show empathy and compassion for people who seem so lacking in it themselves.
It’s hard, I know. When Jesus called on the people to love your neighbor as yourself, he placed it above a lot of other commandments, and the old Hebraic laws seemed to go out the window. I don’t think Christians were really catching much of a break though. Wouldn’t it be easier to give up eating animals that don’t have a cloven hoof or chew their cud than to truly love your neighbors without prejudice?
Here’s what I struggle with. How do we simultaneously stand by some of our neighbors – such as immigrants and trans folk – and at the same time find a connection with those who vote for oppressing them? I think we ultimately have to change the conversation. As long as Democrats are defined by culture war issues, we are not going to break through. And I suppose immigrants and trans folk wouldn’t mind if they were a little less in the spotlight.
The Republican appeal these days is clearly rooted in some deep-seated popular resentments, and we need to consider that those resentments, though misdirected, have some legitimate sources. Is the system rigged against working people? You betcha.
We are living in a second Gilded Age. As in the late nineteenth century, corporate behemoths have swallowed up the economy, and the result has been growing economic inequality as the billionaire class enriches itself through the manipulation of paper assets, prices, and the tax code. I think most Americans have some sense of that but don’t really know what to do with their anger. They are not convinced that Democrats really care about them, and maybe that is at least partly our fault.
If we are going to truly show love for our neighbors, it will be apparent more in our works than in our words. Maybe it matters what’s in our hearts and minds, but it matters more what’s in our deeds. We should think of love as an active verb. Here at the local level, we ought to demonstrate an ethic of caring through our involvement in the community.
That’s why for the last few years, we’ve conducted food drives to restock the pantries at our local colleges. That’s why we recently adopted a stretch of Highway 10 in Hawley. If you have other ideas for how Clay County DFL can be of service in the community, let us know.
Happy holidays!
Paul Harris
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