Can We Just Get Along, Part 2:

I don't remember whether it was Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, or some other show along that line, but I do remember the basic plot device of an episode. Two opposing groups were locked in deadly warfare. The story focused on one group "protecting" some important facility. Part of the soldier's training was that they were to wear this protective visor at all times. This would protect them from some blinding weapon that the enemy had.
The kick-in-the-gut ending came when some soldier lost his visor and found out that the hideous, insect-like creatures he had been killing in order to save his kind, were, in reality, people like himself.
Unfortunately, the syndrome happens in reality--sans special eyewear--all the time. I call it the "Other Syndrome." ( I don't think that is original with me.) If we see someone with whom we disagree as fundamentally other than we are, our tendency is to not treat them with the respect they deserve. I'll not supply any general examples, though they abound. Stop and think for a minute and come up with your own.

Specifically, the current divide among Evangelicals concerning President Trump is riff with the Other Syndrome. From Hilary Clinton's "Basket of Deplorables," to right-wing commentators who ridicule the left, to Galli's claim to be an elite Evangelical, to those who doubt the salvation of those on the other side, it is clear that one reason we can't have a civil discussion is we not only disagree with our opponents, too often we don't consider them worthy of civil discourse. I'm not saying there aren't real differences. There are. I'm saying we often don't treat others with respect, even in the church.

Let me illustrate the concept based on the politics/culture of the little city where I spent most of my adult life. In the 70s when I moved to the paper mill town where I ministered, there was plenty to argue about, but there was a certain level of civility as well. Mill managers and laborers had children who attended the same schools and played on the same sports teams. Often management and union members attended the same churches and ate at the same restaurants. One sat at a desk, the other carried a lunch box, but there was an awareness that in significant ways, "we are the same." In the last couple of decades, a "Brain-drain changed the character of things. The higher-level management no longer lived in our little town. They commuted in from 50 miles away. Doctors, lawyers, and even school teachers followed suit. It became easier to think of the other side as OTHERs, not like me. The community suffers because of that.

This is a bad thing in society in general. Within the church it is horrible. The fact that I always need to bring to the table is that any difference I have with a fellow believer pales in significance when I consider the sameness we have in Christ.

Lord, help me to think about that before I speak, write, or post.