New book by Arthur Brooks: Love Your Enemy (1 Viewer)

[timschochet]

http://www.aei.org/publication/love-your-enemies-how-decent-people-can-save-america-from-the-culture-of-contempt/

Anybody seen this guy on TV lately? His new book is quite compelling. He says we need to stop treating each other with contempt. Some of his takes: 

1. The average supporter of Bernie Sanders is not a communist, not out to destroy our system of free enterprise. 

2. The average supporter of Donald Trump is not a Nazi, not a white supremacist. 

3. These labels are destroying our politics and poisoning our society. We need to understand each other more and treat each other better. 

Thoughts? 

 

[Cowboysfan8]

Thoughts? 

He's right

 

[sho nuff]

Every week (well ok not necessarily every week) at Church I see those words “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good” as it’s stemciled along the wall across from where we sit.  Also had a recen homily on that and the difficulty in doing so.  If also point out the rest of the passage as it’s a good lesson.

But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.  To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic[a] either.  Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.  And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Luke 6:27-31

My thoughts are it’s a basic principle...the golden rule that exists across just about every religion and culture (mainly the last line of the passage I quoted)...and one of the most difficult for humans to adhere to when we feel wronged or whatever.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Joe started a thread about this based on a Brooks op-ed.

https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/topic/774522-beware-of-contempt/?tab=comments#comment-21750325

 

[dgreen]

Give to everyone who begs from you, 

Uh oh, I never noticed that sentence. 

 

[wikkidpissah]

Still convinced he's a shill for Newt Gingrich. AEI has become the thinktank of the man who single-handedly legitimized his brand of politics - more responsible for the stasis, truthiness, targeting, pledge-mongering that brought his brand of reactionary conservatism the standing they sought than any other individual. More than Reagan, more than Ailes. Gingrich was ahead of the curve then and he's ahead of the curve now - sending Brooks and former AEI head Chris DeMuth around capitalizing on the desire for normalization to make reaching-out part of their brand while liberals are scrambling to codify their dissent the way Newt did his a quarter-century ago. As i said in JB's thread:

By tricking opponents into qualifying themselves as equal partners in discord, reactionaries win a fight they instigated.

There's a conservative named Brooks who's been writing on the morality of conduct, politics & progress for as long Newt has been stirring up his poison pill juice - David Brooks of the NYTimes. Read his books, columns, watch his lectures if you want to find the moral center of leadership & governance and let shills like this here Brooks do their brand-building in other hearts.

 

[AAABatteries]

Joe’s pen name is Arthur Brooks?

 

[NCCommish]

No. I won't.  There is to much at stake. You only get to punch me in the face so many times before I realize it's going to take beating you utterly and completely to move on to what we need to do. Can't do that letting you hit me over and over.

And all Republicans may not be racist but they elect a lot of them and pretty much every racist you meet is a Republican. 

 

[timschochet]

 pretty much every racist you meet is a Republican. 

Sorry but this simply isn’t true. I have met many Democrats who are racist. 

If you want a public example, look no further than the current governor of Virginia. Or Ms Maxine Waters. 

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Sorry but this simply isn’t true. I have met many Democrats who are racist. 

If you want a public example, look no further than the current governor of Virginia. Or Ms Maxine Waters. 

No true Democrat is a racist.

 

[NCCommish]

Sorry but this simply isn’t true. I have met many Democrats who are racist. 

If you want a public example, look no further than the current governor of Virginia. Or Ms Maxine Waters. 

I didn't say all I said pretty much that would mean a majority as this certainly isn't a both sides are equal thing. As you are apparently claiming. And could you provide an example of Waters racism?

 

[NCCommish]

No true Democrat is a racist.

Did I say all or did you both infer it?

 

[timschochet]

I didn't say all I said pretty much that would mean a majority as this certainly isn't a both sides are equal thing. As you are apparently claiming. And could you provide an example of Waters racism?

I could and I have. But not here. It would be antithetical to the point of this thread. I need to try and love Maxine. 

 

[Shula-holic]

No. I won't.  There is to much at stake. You only get to punch me in the face so many times before I realize it's going to take beating you utterly and completely to move on to what we need to do. Can't do that letting you hit me over and over.

And all Republicans may not be racist but they elect a lot of them and pretty much every racist you meet is a Republican. 

You should realize this leads to losing more than you win at any endeavor.  We all can take stuff too personally when it comes to political things.  But whether it's political views, business, personal life, wealth, when you worry about someone else more than you worry about yourself you typically don't turn out well in results or mental state.

 

[NCCommish]

You should realize this leads to losing more than you win at any endeavor.  We all can take stuff too personally when it comes to political things.  But whether it's political views, business, personal life, wealth, when you worry about someone else more than you worry about yourself you typically don't turn out well in results or mental state.

I'm not talking about winning a debate I'm talking about winning on policy and implementing policy. I don't care much about what winning a debate. Really there was a time I cared a lot more than I do now. But that was a while ago what I care about now is winning policy that's what's important and that's what I'm talkin about.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Joe’s pen name is Arthur Brooks?

 I haven't read the book and I guess tim doesn't read my threads but this is absolutely a needed thing here. 

I've said it from the jump that I felt a huge number of the folks strongly opposed to President Trump were making an error in assuming all Trump voters were the MAGA hat wearing (when they didn't have their hood on) Rally Fans. The reality is at least in my personal experience, I know a lot of everyday "regular" people who voted for him mostly because he was the Republican nominee and they felt he was the less bad of two bad choices.

And it goes the other way too. Not every voter for Secretary of State Clinton was a vote for Socialism. And further, not everyone who supported Bernie Sanders bought into everything he proposed. 

The thing that bums me out most about today's society is we seem to have lost empathy. We seem to have a hard time showing grace to someone who disagrees with us. And not having contempt for them. 

 

[timschochet]

 I haven't read the book and I guess tim doesn't read my threads but this is absolutely a needed thing here. 

I've said it from the jump that I felt a huge number of the folks strongly opposed to President Trump were making an error in assuming all Trump voters were the MAGA hat wearing (when they didn't have their hood on) Rally Fans. The reality is at least in my personal experience, I know a lot of everyday "regular" people who voted for him mostly because he was the Republican nominee and they felt he was the less bad of two bad choices.

And it goes the other way too. Not every voter for Secretary of State Clinton was a vote for Socialism. And further, not everyone who supported Bernie Sanders bought into everything he proposed. 

The thing that bums me out most about today's society is we seem to have lost empathy. We seem to have a hard time showing grace to someone who disagrees with us. And not having contempt for them. 

I read that thread but somehow I missed that it was the same guy. But anyhow he makes sense to me. 

You do as well, on this issue, though I don’t always agree with how you choose to apply it. 

 

[Joe Bryant]

I read that thread but somehow I missed that it was the same guy. But anyhow he makes sense to me. 

You do as well, on this issue, though I don’t always agree with how you choose to apply it. 

Just kidding you. I know there are tons of threads. I don't think it's the same author. It's just something I've been realizing and talking about a lot. 

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

We’d all to well to remember that even in the most one-sides states, around +\- 40% of the voters are the minority party. 40% is a big number.