Killing Ourselves with Contempt
One of the tragic things about the political culture of the Anglophone world is the way that social media and political pundits actively cultivate contempt.
To hold someone in contempt is to regard them as either worthless or worthy of only derision and debasement.
In our current political climate, contempt is the norm, because contempt sells and succeeds!
Language dripping with contempt promotes outrage, attracts viewers, gets clicks and likes, it reinforces in-group values, confirms our biases, galvanizes our political base, and even activates the brain’s hate circuit to produce everything from agitated facial expressions to fanatical violence.
The people with whom we disagree are given neither thoughtful refutation nor basic respect, only mockery, insults, and rage … and we lap it up like a thirsty dog.
Contempt captures attention because respectful debate is boring, it humanizes your political opponents, and kindness does not motivate your base … but angry yelling does.
Let me add, this cultivation of contempt characterizes much of the political right and left. Tucker Carlson can be contemptuous of Democrat voters as SJW snowflakes just as much as John Oliver can look down on GOP voters as ignorant white supremacist rednecks. Contempt transcends our political tribes.
Yet the culture of contempt should not gain traction among Christians because, as the apostle Paul said, “You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat” (Rom 14.10).
We are killing each other we contempt. We need a better way.
Thankfully, many others have been thinking along the same lines!