{"id":71395,"date":"2019-03-11T13:24:23","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T19:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=71395"},"modified":"2019-03-11T14:19:48","modified_gmt":"2019-03-11T20:19:48","slug":"against-demonization-and-rhetorical-total-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/against-demonization-and-rhetorical-total-war.html","title":{"rendered":"Against demonization and rhetorical total war"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Sunrise<\/a>
Dawn in California\u2019s Mojave Desert, a very familiar area to me since my earliest memories
(Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

There was an interesting episode in domestic American politics at the end of February and the beginning of March. \u00a0Many articles appeared on the subject; I choose two of them, largely at random, so that you\u2019ll know what I have in mind:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWarren takes aim at Pence: He\u2019s not a \u2018decent\u2019 man\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe Biden Backtracks After Calling Vice President Pence \u2018a Decent Guy'\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I worry about the state of civil discourse in the United States. \u00a0Or, perhaps more accurately, about the lack<\/em> of civil discourse. \u00a0It was one of the major reasons that I could not support the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump. \u00a0But, as a conservative, I\u2019m also painfully aware of the incivility of the Left. \u00a0My positions, and those who hold them, are routinely maligned as hateful, racist, misogynistic, callous and uncaring, and so forth. \u00a0It isn\u2019t enough, for many people, to view those with whom they disagree as mistaken<\/em>. \u00a0No, such deviants must be evil<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are three articles on that topic:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Culture of Contempt:\u00a0The problem in America today is not incivility or intolerance. It\u2019s something far worse.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA dean is stepping down over her university\u2019s decision to drop Chick-fil-A\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo-Faith Nation:\u00a0When it comes to cultural issues, there is no center-left.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The same, obviously, is true of many religious disagreements.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Several years back, an anonymous emailer, an advocate of the \u201cheartland\u201d geographical model for the Book of Mormon who (for more than a year, and sometimes multiple times a day) had been sending me notes (typically including well-designed, personalized memes and images) denouncing my sympathies for Mesoamerican models, wrote me a final note. \u00a0He had, he said, listened to General Conference the previous weekend. \u00a0Something that one of the speakers had said convinced him that what he was doing was wrong. \u00a0He told me that I would never hear from him again. \u00a0And I never have.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A few days ago, out of the blue and completely to my surprise, I received a note from an extremely vocal critic of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> who has had some very harsh things to say about me, publicly. \u00a0He apologized. \u00a0It was a gracious gesture, and I was happy to accept his apology.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here, though, is a contrasting case:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the past few days, in one place, my supposed propensity to call people \u201cfaggots\u201d has been noted. \u00a0And if that\u2019s typical of my public<\/em> language, how hateful must I be in my private<\/em> discourse?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But I don\u2019t believe that I\u2019ve ever<\/em> called anybody<\/em> a \u201cfaggot.\u201d \u00a0Ever. \u00a0Publicly or<\/em> privately. \u00a0It\u2019s a word that I strongly dislike. \u00a0And I don\u2019t use any other such word pejoratively, either. \u00a0Denigrating people over their sexuality, using it as an insult, is not something that I do or have ever done.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

One fellow chimes in to note that, years ago, when he was struggling with concerns about his faith, he wrote to me, apparently seeking help. \u00a0I responded by mocking him, saying that I had shared his letter with a class of mine. \u00a0We apparently all had a good laugh at him.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult if not impossible to respond to such anonymous public allegations. \u00a0Not only do I not recall such a story, I can\u2019t imagine myself ever doing what this person alleges. \u00a0I\u2019ve spent more hours than I can possibly count over the past two or three decades, privately trying to help people sincerely struggling with faith issues. \u00a0I don\u2019t ridicule them. \u00a0I sympathize with them. \u00a0I feel for them. \u00a0I take their questions as seriously as I know how. \u00a0On the other hand, I doubt that this fellow is altogether lying. \u00a0My guess is that there is some kernel of truth in what he says. \u00a0But what is it? \u00a0It would be very helpful to see what he wrote to me and exactly what I wrote back to him. \u00a0I would never mock a crisis of faith; I would certainly never do so before a class. \u00a0I will, however, respond critically to poor logic and to triumphalism.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anyway, a discussion has now ensued about what my \u201cvile\u201d behavior says about me and my supposed religious beliefs. \u00a0Perhaps, it\u2019s been suggested, I believe that simply having received the ordinances of the temple is enough to save me, without any need for ethical behavior or kindness. \u00a0Salvation by temple alone, I suppose. \u00a0More likely, though, I don\u2019t actually believe anything<\/em>, religiously speaking. \u00a0How else to explain my life-long viciousness? \u00a0My apparent incapacity, according to at least a couple of anonymous folks online, ever to have an honorable thought or do a decent thing. \u00a0I\u2019m in it for the money. \u00a0Or the status.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The apparently increasing tendency in American society to demonize those who disagree with us on political and religious issues is sad, and very discouraging. \u00a0I can\u2019t help but think of the utter disintegration of Nephite society just prior to Christ\u2019s visit to the New World, as it\u2019s depicted in 3 Nephi 7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Can we do anything to arrest the trend? \u00a0We can certainly resolve not to participate in such behavior ourselves. \u00a0We can resist claims that individuals who disagree with us are flatly evil, simply because they disagree. \u00a0Which means that we should be very skeptical of stories about them \u2014 especially anonymous, one-sided stories \u2014 that purport to demonstrate their limitless depravity.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are genuinely evil people. \u00a0Joseph Stalin was. \u00a0Adolf Hitler was. \u00a0Jeffrey Dahmer. \u00a0Ted Bundy. \u00a0El Chapo. \u00a0Ayman al-Zawahiri. \u00a0Mike Pence probably doesn\u2019t belong in that list, though. \u00a0Nor does Harry Reid. \u00a0Nor do Ben Shapiro and Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell. \u00a0Nor, however shocking this may be to a few, do I.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 There was an interesting episode in domestic American politics at the end of February and the beginning of March. \u00a0Many articles appeared on the subject; I choose two of them, largely at random, so that you\u2019ll know what I have in mind: \u00a0 \u201cWarren takes aim at Pence: He\u2019s not a \u2018decent\u2019 man\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nAgainst demonization and rhetorical total war<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    There was an interesting episode in domestic American politics at the end of February and the beginning of March. \u00a0Many articles appeared on\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/against-demonization-and-rhetorical-total-war.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Against demonization and rhetorical total war\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    There was an interesting episode in domestic American politics at the end of February and the beginning of March. \u00a0Many articles appeared on\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/against-demonization-and-rhetorical-total-war.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-11T19:24:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-11T20:19:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2017\/03\/Dawn_1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/against-demonization-and-rhetorical-total-war.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/against-demonization-and-rhetorical-total-war.html\",\"name\":\"Against demonization and rhetorical total war\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-11T19:24:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-11T20:19:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\"    There was an interesting episode in domestic American politics at the end of February and the beginning of March. \u00a0Many articles appeared on\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/against-demonization-and-rhetorical-total-war.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/against-demonization-and-rhetorical-total-war.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/against-demonization-and-rhetorical-total-war.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Against demonization and rhetorical total war\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Against demonization and rhetorical total war","description":"    There was an interesting episode in domestic American politics at the end of February and the beginning of March. \u00a0Many articles appeared on","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/against-demonization-and-rhetorical-total-war.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Against demonization and rhetorical total war","og_description":"    There was an interesting episode in domestic American politics at the end of February and the beginning of March. \u00a0Many articles appeared on","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/against-demonization-and-rhetorical-total-war.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2019-03-11T19:24:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-03-11T20:19:48+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2017\/03\/Dawn_1.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/against-demonization-and-rhetorical-total-war.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/against-demonization-and-rhetorical-total-war.html","name":"Against demonization and rhetorical total war","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-03-11T19:24:23+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-11T20:19:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":"    There was an interesting episode in domestic American politics at the end of February and the beginning of March. \u00a0Many articles appeared on","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/against-demonization-and-rhetorical-total-war.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/against-demonization-and-rhetorical-total-war.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/against-demonization-and-rhetorical-total-war.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Against demonization and rhetorical total war"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71395\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}