Contempt is never the answer

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “contempt” as “the feeling that a person or a thing is worthless or beneath consideration.” It is ultimately derived from the Latin word contemptus which means “to scorn or despise.” As ONE PEOPLE we seem to be doing this quite frequently and more so each day. We actually have contempt of another! It matters little whether it is politics (Dems vs Rep), among races (Black vs White), nationalities (Americans vs China)… it just goes on and on ad nauseam. Enough already!

 I still get a kick out of my old-school Latin and how often our Modern Society defers to it. As written in The New York Times, contempt is not the same thing as strongly disagreeing with someone. Not only are strong disagreements inevitable, but “Disagreement helps us innovate, improve, and find the truth.” It also leads to common understanding and new ideas. The problem isn’t that we disagree; it’s how we disagree. Increasingly, disagreements today are characterized by a “noxious brew of anger and disgust,” which is directed not only at bad ideas, but also at the people who espouse them. Mmmm… This goes beyond incivility and it’s just plain rudeness.

 It even goes beyond intolerance. It’s the conviction that while your side “is driven by benevolence,” the other side “is evil and motivated by hatred.”  Who does this help?  No one! You can probably think of several examples of contempt recently directed at other religions and cultures.. So can I. However, to paraphrase the First Letter of John,  if we say that we are free of contempt, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. That’s worth a long thought.

Can we honestly say that we never think of our opponents, in any area, as: not quite as informed, educated, or forward thinking as we are?  Do we always strive to be “greater than thou” with people while we criticize their ideas? The fact that we  ourselves are often unjustly maligned… isn’t a reason to reciprocate in kind. In the case of contempt for our opponents, things like social media, cable news, and political websites can be such occasions. These are the mechanisms and media for modern propaganda and word peddlers.  They are  folks who profit from the culture of contempt.

Contempt is not the same thing as strongly disagreeing with someone. Not only are strong disagreements inevitable, but disagreement helps us innovate, improve, and find the truth.” It also leads to common understanding and new ideas.The problem isn’t that we disagree; it’s how we disagree. Increasingly, disagreements today are characterized by a “noxious brew of anger and disgust,” which is directed not only at bad ideas, but also at the people who espouse them. Mmmm…This goes beyond incivility and rudeness. 

It’s the conviction that while your side “is driven by benevolence,” the other side “is evil and motivated by hatred.”  Who does this help?  No one!?  Do we always strive to be “greater than thou” with people while we criticize their ideas? The fact that we  ourselves are often unjustly maligned… isn’t a reason to reciprocate in kind.