{"id":62222,"date":"2018-06-22T23:34:44","date_gmt":"2018-06-23T05:34:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=62222"},"modified":"2018-09-05T09:53:30","modified_gmt":"2018-09-05T15:53:30","slug":"decent-people-can-disagree-decently-even-it-happens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/06\/decent-people-can-disagree-decently-even-it-happens.html","title":{"rendered":"Decent people can disagree. Decently, even. (It happens.)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Where<\/a>
The Senate side of the United States Capitol \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

From time to time, I\u2019ve voiced my profound concern about the toxic character of much public discourse today, about the rampant incivility, particularly where religion and politics are concerned. \u00a0It\u2019s seems that it\u2019s not enough to disagree. \u00a0Those with whom we disagree must apparently be demonized. \u00a0They\u2019re not just wrong, they\u2019re evil. \u00a0Depraved. \u00a0They don\u2019t merely see things differently, they\u2019re lying. \u00a0And they should be shown no quarter, no respect, no civility or common courtesy.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a frequent target of such vitriol, of course, provoked by my defense of the claims of the Restoration. \u00a0But that\u2019s far and away not my only reason for worry, nor even my principal one.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Such take-no-prisoners total warfare is one of the things that disturbed me most about the emergence of Trumpism. \u00a0And I\u2019ve even risen to the defense of former Nevada senator Harry Reid, when certain members of the Church (of which he is also a member) began demanding his excommunication, getting him disinvited from Church firesides, and so forth. \u00a0I made it clear that I\u2019m a serious conservative who disagrees at almost every point with Brother Reid\u2019s politics, but that didn\u2019t prevent me from being harshly attacked for days and days on end by a certain type of right-leaning Latter-day Saints.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I alluded to that experience in a recent post here titled \u201cDaniel Peterson, deviationist and heretic,\u201d<\/a> and received the following note,\u00a0from a former member of my ward, responding to that post:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sorry to use your BYU email to contact you, however, your June 19 article in Patheos really struck a nerve.\u00a0 I will get right to the point.\u00a0 Prior to [my wife\u2019s] and my departure to the Washington DC North mission I felt that it was my responsibility to understand some of the people with whom I would be \u00a0rubbing shoulders.\u00a0 One of those individuals was Harry Reid.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t understand how a fellow Mormon could attack another fellow Mormon (Mitt Romney in the 2012 Presidential Campaign) in front of the entire nation and claim that he was a tax evader when there were no grounds for such a claim.\u00a0 (Hold on, don\u2019t turn me off yet!)\u00a0 In my search I came across an article in a magazine (I think it was Forbes but I am not sure) that talked about Harry Reid\u2019s background and about his personal philosophy.\u00a0 I was thunder struck.\u00a0 As Harry Reid was quoted regarding his personal philosophy on life I can only say that this is what I would have expected to hear from the Savior!\u00a0 I finally understood why Harry proposed some of the legislation he introduced.\u00a0 It was a good thing I did this because we ended up attending church in the same ward house where I crossed paths with Harry on multiple occasions.\u00a0 (By the way, as you know, Harry was instrumental in working with the church to obtain visas, etc.\u00a0 He was also instrumental in the conversion of a US Senator to the Church.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I have found that gaining a better understanding (Harry Reid) goes a long way towards C.S. Lewis\u2019 statement, \u201cThere are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations \u2013 these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit \u2013 immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I was impressed with what my friend had to say. \u00a0In fact, I liked it so much that I asked whether I could quote him on my blog. \u00a0Here\u2019s his answer, which includes a reference to Jim Matheson<\/a>, a former Democratic congressman from Utah:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dan, I don\u2019t know what I said that would be worth quoting.\u00a0 You can use whatever you want \u2014 no attribution needed.\u00a0 I have been a staunch conservative my whole life, however, after our time in DC I attribute one of my greatest accomplishments being able to call Jim Matheson\u00a0a good friend. \u00a0He has even asked me to work with him on his next campaign.\u00a0 He is a decent man and I would be pleased to help him.<\/span><\/p>\n

On another subject, we are now in Hawaii on a mission and we are immersed in another form of cultural immersion, quite different from the cultural immersion we experienced in central city DC.\u00a0 People need to get out of Utah a little!<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I liked my friend\u2019s reply, too, so I\u2019ve quoted it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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