wfn.org | Faith and Life commentary: A call for mutual respect in a close

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election

Dec. 4, 2000  News media contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-21-71BP{540}

NOTE:  A head-and-shoulders photograph of the Rev. Phil Wogaman is
available.

A UMNS Commentary
By the Rev. Phil Wogaman*

Whew! Never in the lifetime of anybody now living has an American
presidential election been quite this close. The protracted recounts and
litigation will be pondered by historians for years, with yet uncertain
long-run effects on the political system.  

The Sunday after the election I remarked to the congregation I serve that
the closeness of the election could have some positive values.  For one
thing, fewer people will despair that there's no use voting. With such a
razor-thin victory margin in several states - especially Florida, of course
- it is clear that every vote counts. We've all been treated to a civics
lesson in the imperfections of the counting process, the relationship
between popular and Electoral College votes, the respective roles of the
different courts and state legislatures, and the potential impact of minor
party candidacies. We are reminded afresh that presidential elections decide
who will exercise immense political power.

The extreme closeness of this election carries another important message:
Effective leadership in a democracy places a heavy burden upon forbearance
and mutual respect. Sometimes winners run roughshod over losers in electoral
politics. That is usually harmful to the fabric of mutual trust upon which
society depends; it appears to be especially harmful when there are
virtually as many "losers" as there are "winners."

The aftermath of this close election places a special burden upon all of us
to respect those with whom we are in disagreement. The post-election
rhetoric of partisans on both sides did not always demonstrate such respect.
Given the emotional stress of the moment and what is at stake, we need to
forgive and forget a lot of that. There is an old Arabian proverb that goes
something like this: A friend is one to whom one can pour out all of the
contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest
of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with the
breath of kindness blow the rest away.  In that sense, a society is
fortunate when it is made up of people who are capable of being such friends
even in spite of deep disagreements.

That is the point where the people of America's religious communities may
have a special role and competence. Our society is indeed divided at many
points, but we do not have to be divisive. Religion can exacerbate divisions
when people invest their "side" in disputes with the aura of ultimate
authority. That can be the ultimate disrespect for others. Unfortunately,
religion has sometimes led to such disrespect.  

But religious faith can also contribute to humility. When we believe that
God is greater than any of us, we are less inclined to think we have the
last word. And when we believe that God loves everybody, we are more
inclined to respect everybody and to love everybody as a sister or brother.
Thus, a strong religious faith can either be an engine of disrespect or a
seedbed of mutual regard. A really strong faith is likely to be one or the
other. 

Obviously, I think the dominant faith traditions of a healthy society will
be the kind that lead to mutual regard, not those that contribute to
disrespect and divisiveness.

 
I have no illusions about how easy it will be to heal the divisions in
American society. Not a few of those have been exacerbated by divisions
within the faith communities themselves. I do know that much depends upon
the character of our faith commitments, our willingness to be patient with
one another, and our resolve to find a higher common ground.

# # #

*Wogaman, pastor of Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, is a
seminary professor of Christian ethics and an author. He is a clergy member
of the Baltimore-Washington Annual (regional) Conference.

Commentaries provided by United Methodist News Service do not necessarily
represent the opinions or policies of UMNS or the United Methodist Church. 

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
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