Combating the Crisis of Contempt by Monitoring our own Speech

Arthur Brooks, speaking at the National Day of Prayer Breakfast, called on the roomful of politicos (and all of America) to suspend their knee-jerk contempt for their political enemies, and yes, maybe even love them. Then the president got up to speak and said, rather humorously, "I don't think I can do that." Which is at least refreshingly honest, I suppose.

He then went on to blast all sorts of "enemies," which might have seemed to the average bystander, well, ummm, inappropriate? I mean, given the venue. But also predictable. Arthur Brooks may have warned about a "crisis of contempt," but the president revels in contempt. When I read what Brooks had said, I thought "how nice." It's as if he were trying to use moral arguments against a tornado. All his words are going to fly away in a minute, scraps of paper whirling up the vortex.

Still, I stand with Brooks, not Trump. Sure, there was a time when I too reveled in the language of contempt so prevalent in the Blogosphere. I'm sorry about that. It was a going off course, a getting caught up in the zeitgeist, I suppose, which is no excuse, especially for a Christian.

For example, there's Psalm 19:14.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable to you, oh Lord.

And Colossians 4:6.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know what you ought to answer each person.

I've tried to tone-down the contempt-quotient in my own political jabber, but not always successfully. Still, I think Brooks struck the right note, a word of warning to the culture at large.