Jimmy Dorrell: A cure for political damage

Thank God it's over! The 2024 political elections have exhausted most of us with unrelenting caustic commercials, childish name calling, purposeful misinformation and blasphemous use of God's name to justify "why my party, candidate or cause is superior to yours."

In the name of democracy, and at the cost of our children listening to grown adults angrily swear at each other, display vulgar and inappropriate memes, many citizens have further divided the nation. We have observed people of all colors, backgrounds and faiths be disparaged to vote for their tribe instead of for the other one, even using tactics that deny the values of their own faith. Through it all, we have gone through two years of social decay that will take years to repair, if it can be healed at all.

Last year, I had the privilege to meet David Brooks for coffee at the World Cup Café. Brooks, a prolific bestselling author, speaker, PBS commentator and editorial contributor to the Washington Post and New York Times newspapers, invited me to an encouraging dialogue with him about how anyone can survive this onslaught of rhetoric and politics and still have a healthy worldview. His answers surprised me.

Brooks himself confessed his own disillusionment with the shallowness of political life. He personally experienced a metamorphosis of change these last few years, from his seemingly successful career through a dark season of family breakup and then into an extended spiritual journey of reevaluating the meaning and purpose of life and a new faith in God. Brooks shared how his personal transformation moved him beyond talk and cold doctrine into purposeful actions. He told me how he and his new wife began inviting struggling urban teens into their own home for a meal each week to get to understand their stories and challenges. Then they created a national nonprofit called "Weavers" to promote local neighborhood involvement for community folks to engage in their cities all across America.

His words to me were extremely encouraging. "If you really want to change America," Brooks said, "it won't be through zealous political engagement like we have here. Instead, it will be through local action in local communities.

"Keep doing what you are doing through Mission Waco/Mission World and through Church Under the Bridge," he said. "Encourage more of your friends and contacts to talk less politics and begin to volunteer in their own neighborhoods, especially among the poor and marginalized. Help them realize by community engagement that angry political partisanship will diminish once they begin to love others who don't care if they are 'red' or 'blue.' National politics has meaning in caring local engagement."

Around 150 A.D., a letter was written to a Roman political leader named Diognetus, who had asked for help to understand the manners of the small minority of Christians living in his region, especially because their lifestyles and customs were so significantly different from the average Roman barbarians. His response examined traits, such as: "As citizens, they share things with other. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but do not live after the flesh. They obey the prescribed laws, but at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men and are persecuted by all. They are poor, yet make many rich. They are in lack of all things, yet abound in all. They are dishonored, yet repay insults with honor. They do good, yet are punished as evil doers."

While vitriolic words will likely continue in this postelection season, perhaps we can relearn an eternal norm: "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31) and tone down the divisive rhetoric which rarely brings change.

Jimmy Dorrell, founder of Mission Waco, is pastor of Waco's Church Under the Bridge. He is a member of the Tribune-Herald Board of Contributors.

"If you really want to change America, it won't be through zealous political engagement like we have here. Instead, it will be through local action in local communities."

— David Brooks

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