A Political Proverb
To those who have eyes to see, let them see. To those who have ears to listen, let them hear.
Too acceptable is abandoning decency and respect in the political arena. Wisdom is the cultural rebel who refuses to disassociate virtue from civic engagement.
Too convenient is attacking the decisions and ideas of your opponents. Wisdom is the courageous follower who questions their own leaders.
Too attractive is the ugliness of your enemies. Wisdom is the humble who repents of the foolishness and pride in their own heart.
Too common is righteous anger justifying patronizing words and violent behavior. Wisdom is the passionate activist that speaks, marches and votes without burning people down in their wake.
Too appealing is apathy towards the political machine. Wisdom is the compassionate who engage because politics effect policies effect people.
Too easy is hasty labeling to validate your disdain: snowflakes, misogynists, woke, extremists, elitists, and ideologues. Wisdom is the restrained who avoid snap judgements, overgeneralizations, and reducing people down to a single derogatory name.
Too quickly is rage provoked and words slung in defense. Wisdom is the slow-tempered who deescalate unhealthy conflict.
Too fragile is personal ego entangled with political identity. Wisdom is the unoffendable.
Too comfortable is the oversimplification of an issue to fall neatly into one side or another. Wisdom is the critical thinker willing to wrestle with nuance.
Too juicy is clickbait media breeding fear and disgust. Wisdom is the news consumer who sees through pandering and manipulating headlines.
Too eager is the celebration of misstep and misfortune of your ideological enemies. Wisdom is the voter who prays blessings, not curses, for those across the aisle.
Too hungry is the appetite to dominate and win. Wisdom is the leader who hungers for justice.
Too tempting is the deflection of failure and weakness by blaming others - ‘it’s their fault’. Wisdom is the sober of mind who asks ‘What could we (not they) have done better?’
Too enticing is the entertainment of witty and clever memes that are simply poorly veiled adult bullying and belittling. Wisdom is the one who refuses to laugh at the expense of others.
Too opportune is accusing your opposition of moral deficiencies while ignoring your own. Wisdom is the discerning who plainly see hypocritical moral measuring.
Too lazy is choosing a position and then smashing forever-stakes into the ground. Wisdom is the brave who, when offered new ideas and information, are willing to reassess their opinions and/or change their mind.
Four conditions confound me.
Five cause me great concern:
beauty of belonging hijacked by political tribalism;
critical thinking accused as disloyalty;
convictions soured into self-righteousness;
kindness construed as weakness;
and God’s kingdom claimed by political kingdoms
Wisdom is not a mass-produced item available with a simple ‘add to cart’ arriving tomorrow from the factory. Wisdom is a hand-made craft painstakingly created by a humble craftsman in an unassuming workshop far from impressive cities.
It is not flashy. It is not cheap. It is not convenient. To obtain wisdom is to seek it out diligently, earnestly, consistently. And when found, wisdom protects peace, dismantles disdain, restores relationships, injures injustice, cures cynicism, pummels pride, defends dignity, heals hopelessness, and lobbies for love.
Wisdom asks, ‘Who is willing to sober their minds and soften their hearts? Who is humble enough to accept correction? Who is brave enough to stray from the easy, ugly way? Who will search for me, yes, even in politics?’
To the weary, take heart.
To the passionate, be steadfast.
To the emboldened, stay tender.
To the wise, well done.