‘The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth.’ – Niels Bohr

I’ve been doing a lot of listening lately. Watching the protests play out in America following the horrific death of George Floyd and the reaction to the Amy Cooper video, and it has been uncomfortable to say the least. I’m realising that there is so much I don’t know about history, and so much I’ve taken for granted.

In the past, I’ve kept my eyes averted from others pain – both overseas and in my own country. Whether too busy or not concerned enough to truly look, I’ve been wrong in not paying attention. Getting caught up in my own existence, going about the day to day activities that make up our lives. It’s hard to stick it out through that initial surge of discomfort. But I’m choosing to do so this time.

I do believe that there is so much we don’t understand about the true nature of this struggle. What it is like to have to fend off racist remarks and stares. Facing hate and intolerance over and over again. And how much of our own ideas have been based on misinformation or ignorance? It’s hard to know.

I’m also seeing a concerning trend of baiting and shaming out there. People fighting between themselves to prove that they are more ‘woke’ or enlightened. There’s shame being heaped on for speaking up in the wrong way, speaking up too late, speaking out against the violence, not speaking up at all. It’s a bloodbath of words out there, and I don’t think much of it is helping.

If the aim truly is for people to become educated and supportive, for all of us to band together and do something productive to right the wrongs of the past, then perhaps a little grace is in order. For most of us, we haven’t gone out of our way to persecute anyone, but may well have contributed to the problem out of ignorance or naivete.

Perhaps, as the late Neil Postman suggested, the solution lies in authentic tolerance. ‘To be able to hold comfortably in one’s mind the validity and usefulness of two contradictory truths is the source of tolerance, openness and, most important, a sense of humour, which is the greatest enemy of fanaticism.’

If we can stand bravely in this space of competing truths, celebrating the hopeful acts and gestures, addressing our own unconscious attitudes that may be contributing to the problem but also extending compassion to those who haven’t been able to get to the same place; perhaps we might see the world we hope for begin to emerge.

Let us not savage those who don’t parrot our views, or decry every comment as racist simply because it doesn’t conform to our talking points. Let us remain openhearted and brave, willing to hear harsh truths,  entering the conversation as equals. Let us be reminded of the ways history repeats itself – how the sins of the fathers are repeated and revisited unconsciously if we do not unearth these mistakes and bring them into the light. Let us not abandon all flawed systems in the name of progress, but carefully consider how to remake and refresh them instead. Let us always remember that we know little of the journey that has brought the person before us to the place they are in, but that if we were to have walked those same steps and in those same shoes, we may well have the same views. Above all, let us remember that we are all children of God.

I don’t have the answers, but I want to be part of the conversation. I want to do my work, to face my sins and figure out a way forward that truly honours all voices. It might be messy, and that’s okay, but I’m committed to moving in a direction of healing – for everyone.

‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.’  –Martin Luther King, Jnr

*Photo sourced from Pexels.