I tried to watch Donald Trump's speech last night, but every time I switched over I heard language that evoked darkness, distrust and despair. One of the channels was carrying the horror movie Pumpkinhead, which is at least fiction.
This campaign season feels like a horror story because the rhetoric is not about substance but rather about calling names and threatening those who don't agree with you. We are in the middle of a time when politics seems to thrive on hatred of an "other."
In 2011 I worked with Iliff School of Theolgy's then president Dr. David Trickett, Dr. James Peters, Rabbi Joseph Black, former Governor Bill Ritter, former U.S. Representative David Skaggs, Joy Luhan, Jeremy Shaffer who later was the executive director of the Interfaith Alliance, and a number of others to formulate at vision statement on faith and politics. The program was to foster a discussion of political issues through the lens of faith, ethics and action.
We wanted to look at campaign finance and the use of money in political advertising, attempt to promote truth in advertising and campaigning, deal with the increased scrutiny into the private lives of candidates, and most important to create an atmosphere for civil discourse. As a kick off to such a program, Iliff agreed to convene a dialogue between former Governor Bill Ritter, a Democrat; and the last former Senator Bill Armstrong, a Republican. The meeting was held on November 11, 2011 and moderated by Gloria Neal from the local CBS television affiliate.
We also invited the chairs of the state political parties, some of the major political consulting principals, other elected officials, clergy, staff and students of Iliff and Colorado Christian College. Staff devoted to a Twitter feed sent out to the public who could not attend.
During the discourse one of the political consultants said that the reason campaigns are negative is because negativity works. It certainly has worked for Mr. Trump so far. He has managed to trounce the regular Republican candidates who entered the Presidential race. However, those delegates who are attending the Republican National Convention do not represent the good and thoughtful Republicans I have met and worked with. Many of them are horrified at what is happening in their party. (Of course, it isn't their party right now.)
Thinking about the vision statement adopted of the Working Group on Faith and Politics in 2011, I am drawn to some of their thoughts:
"Over the past several elections, the intolerance and anger in local and
national political rhetoric have reached dangerous levels. Personal attacks and negative campaigning have become the norm for many candidates and "independent" operatives. As a result, the many troubling issues facing the nation and the State receive too little attention.
Words have power. They can be healing or hurtful. We are concerned about the destructive effect of language in our political life and broader society.
The ability of citizens to engage with each other with mutual respect is essential for our democratic system to serve its purposes of resolving differences without violence and setting shared goals and finding the means to achieve them. The way we honor the civic equality of each person is a key measure of our humanity and communal health.
Despite the raw quality of so much in politics, we believe a hunger for meaning and higher purpose is lurking beneath the hardened exterior of most people in public life and certainly in the aspirations of the wider public for nobler politics. The hunger and aspiration reflect founding principles of the country--that we are created equal and are to be joined in the cause of a more perfect Union. The inevitable differences of our diverse society need to be embraced in robust but respectful debate. Our national motto suggests it may be possible for many to become one, or at least for us to share a civic purposefulness even as we disagree about policies."
Although the Interfaith Alliance and televison host Aaron Harber sponsored some dialogues, nothing permanent came into place. In 2015-16, a group working with Ghost Ranch formulated a weekend seminar on Democracy Building: Refuse to be Polarized. Unfortunately the retreat was cancelled for lack of enrollment. Questions were raised about hosting such a retreat in the middle of such a divisive campaign season.
The election season of 2016 seems to demonstrate to the highest magnification of what happens with endless money and unrestrained rhetoric that spills over into abuse. And it happened in both major parties.
Yes, America does face enormous challenges. No, Mr. Trump, my experiences and yours have been great because we have had the opportunities for education and the means to live comfortably. It is not a horror story.
My hope is that the Democrats will come back to talk about that hunger for meaning and higher purpose and how we all can find it. It is clear that Mr. Trump's campaign will continue to be focused on painting the most dour picture of America and its citizens.