After this past weekend’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, combined with calls from all sides to unify and decrease the heat in today’s political rhetoric, I keep seeing one question come up: How?
How do we collectively ratchet down the heat — and the hatred — in today’s politics? Or, indeed, in any arena?
We can begin by committing ourselves to being the one to make change, to being a “stone catcher.” Let’s get off social media, where conspiracy theories and anger abound, focus on our homes and communities and look for the helpers. Even better — become one of the helpers. Getting to know people with different life experiences and different viewpoints from our own helps us see them as fellow humans. As Gov. Spencer Cox is fond of saying, “It’s hard to hate someone up close.”
We can evaluate our own speech, both written and verbal, through the scale provided by the Dignity Index. Its eight levels help us measure how we talk to each other when we disagree. Level 1 is contempt. “They’re not even human. It’s our moral duty to destroy them before they destroy us.” Level 8 is dignity, even in disagreement. “Each one of us is born with inherent worth, so we treat everyone with dignity — no matter what.”
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One way that we can tone down our own tendencies to “otherize” people who have different experiences and viewpoints from our own is to serve them. Like the Ballard Center for Social Impact at BYU emphasizes, learning to “love the one” brings greater benefits than focusing on a one-size-fits-all solution. There is a lot of academic research to back up the benefits of service, which include reducing stress, combating depression and increasing connection with others and with the broader community. First lady Abby Cox, through her “Show Up” initiative, reminds us that “You can pretend to care, but you can’t pretend to show up.”
What does that look like in practice? Since there as many ways to serve as there are people in the world, here is a tiny smattering of ideas you can use as a launching point:
- JustServe.org lists many opportunities based on your geographic location, and offers service opportunities you can do remotely as well. Some current needs based on my ZIP code include serving breakfast to youth experiencing homelessness, a book drive for toddlers, a “humanitarian quilting day,” and a diaper drive for a local food pantry.
- Catholic Community Services has 10 programs, serving refugees, homeless people, immigrants and veterans, and they operate St. Vincent de Paul Dining Hall. Last year, volunteers contributed almost 54,000 hours of service, providing hot meals, groceries and resettlement assistance.
- Utah Refugee Connection helps support refugees in Utah to develop “self-sufficient and fulfilling lives.” It is in the middle of its annual backpack drive and is looking to collect at least 2,000 backpacks by July 31.
- Utah Domestic Violence Coalition, whose mission is to end domestic violence in Utah, is looking for volunteers to help staff their crisis hotline, and to help with fundraising and events.
- The INN Between, which provides end-of-life care for terminally ill clients experiencing homelessness, is looking for volunteers to drive clients to doctor visits, pick up food donations, provide translation services, help with yard work, take residents on outings and more.
Maybe none of those appeal to you. That’s OK. You can host a barbecue in your backyard and chat with your neighbors. Or read a book (or several) that have a viewpoint different than your own. Or commit to making social media kinder and more hopeful. Or take your kids to the pool and forget social media for a while. Or make a gratitude list and a joy list and then focus on the items on your lists.
Let there be peace on earth (and in our politics) and let it begin with me.
Originally published in the Deseret News
