How to disagree with passion.

August 24, 2007 by Pastor Dan.

A few days ago, I made a crack to someone about a mutual acquaintance. It was a gossipy, he-said-she-said situation. “George doesn’t really care about this at all. He just has opinions,” I said, with cruel accuracy.

But my conscience nagged. The guilty words of the disciples gathered at the Last Supper popped into mind: “Surely, not I , Lord?” (Matthew 26:22) Was I guilty of cruel and hateful words, too, which reveal that I don’t really care, either? Do I just have opinions, rather than compassion?

What is it that legitimizes strongly-held opinions, anyway? And what does it mean to care? There are many things, for example, that I read in the news or hear about in matters of public policy, developments in the neighborhood, etc., on which I have opinions. But nobody wants my opinions, especially if I am not a stakeholder or, as they say, I don’t have a dog in the fight.

Increasingly, we are a society chock-ful of opinionated people. Contentious, litigious, polarized and politicized, balkanized people. I’m not sure where it is all leading, or if our society and world can step back from the edge before we fatally hurt ourselves. But it seems to me it must begin with caring deeply about the things we argue over or offer opinions about.

When and if we can sort out the inner workings of our hearts, we can lay bare what it is we care about, and why. This would go a long way for the larger community not only to hear the little voices who struggle to be heard, but to filter out the big noise-makers whose true motives are hidden behind bluster, dire warnings and implied threats.

This is not tiny stuff I’m thinking of. The poisonous political climate of the country is filled with bluster and implied threats—about every wholesome cause or righteous project—that, for example, ”it will cost thousands of jobs.” A bluster or threat is a way of preventing dialogue, stopping conversation, aborting each promising idea.

(Who says that “jobs” is the ultimate, highest value in our society? Would born-again Republicans defend, say, child pornography because shutting it down could cost thousands of jobs? Are such evils as polluting substances, cheap handguns, pyramid investment scams and Ponzi schemes, and pork-barrel projects all allowed to flourish in this country just because they create or protect jobs?  Is this why term limits are so odious to sitting politicians, because term limits would cost them their jobs?)

Truth, and the full disclosure of our passions, are sadly lacking at every level of society. It is long overdue that people who disagree should first start by revealing their underlying values—what they care about—rather than their opinions–what they’re upset about.

—Pastor Dan Hooper, Los Angeles

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