“[People] draw this neat little circle, and everyone inside the circle is normal. Everyone outside the circle should be beaten, broken, and reset so they can be brought into the circle. Failing that, they should be institutionalized, or worse, pitied.” – Dr. Gregory House played by Hugh Laurie in the Fox series House.
There seems to be a natural instinct to seek community. We all like to experience fellowship with people who share some kind of interest or perspective or goal. Young schoolkids form clubs for a variety of purposes. Athletic activities give fine expression to this urge. College kids belong to social or service organizations, or proudly belong to the community of people who abstain from being in organizations. Beyond school and sports, anyone can observe a variety of other indicators for this instinct. Young Upcoming Professionals “network” together. People in particular fields of work form associations and leagues and societies and such. People develop such a sense of pride in their homeland that they form community around notions of nationalism and/or ethnicity. There are even examples of groups based on common race. There are forms of community based on gender, others based on age, and others based on religion.
Whatever the particular common ground is, any communal expression necessarily involves exclusion of those who do not “fit” or who choose not to comply with some requirement. A community is defined in part simply by who is in and who is out. It’s not a football team if people with no athletic skills or abilities are able to sign up. It’s not a sorority if guys are on the member list. It’s not the state’s Bar Association if accountants and plumbers are on the roll. And it’s not a Baptist church if all the congregants are baptizing their babies.
All of this can be harmless, given good circumstances. People don’t tend to have reason to boycott the local high school’s Future Business Leaders of America club. The massive riches obtained in the world of professional sports indicate that there is a consensus of support for the endeavors of professional athletes. The Young Professionals Association downtown doesn’t seem to be offending people.
However, problems can arise when the “in” crowd of a particular stripe have views which indicate that the “out” crowd are inferior or pitiable for their lack of being “in.”
Even this is not always the case. Groups do have sufficient cause at times to believe that their experience is better than people who are not in the group. My wife, who looks over my shoulder as I write, points out just now that we who are not in prison have a superior experience to those who are in prison. Another example is that I am among those who have visited Boston, while my wife is among those who have not, and I am obviously not a bad person for thinking she is inferior for this. And there is probably very little harm when a group of tuba players look down their noses at a group of oboe players.
But when real or perceived serious consequences are involved, it is possible for outsiders to be alienated, offended, demoralized, and even dehumanized.
You’ll have no need of me explaining how the relatively recent history of racism provides some clear examples of this. And you are surely aware of various news headlines indicating some extreme religious fanaticism leading to a serious injury and/or murder of “infidels” (outsiders deemed to be “not faithful” and not worthy of continued life according to an extremist community standard).
However, there are more common examples of outsiders being derogated.
Some abortion advocates may suggest that anti-abortion activists are Neanderthals. The return shot may be a categorization of murderer.
Some atheists may suggest that adherents to supernaturalism are weak-minded squanderers of time and energy. The return shot may be the notification that the afterlife for those without theistic faith will involve an eternity burning in a lake of fire.
Some Baptists may suggest that Catholics are superstitious and in danger of hellfire for idolatry. The return shot may be that Baptists have no connection to the historic Christian Church and are in danger of hellfire for failing to be reconciled to Christ’s ordained earthly representatives.
Some Presbyterians may suggest that a variety of other Christian denominations are in grave error for not believing the right things in precisely the right way. The return shot may be that Christian faith is not about having the correct set of beliefs in the head, and those who put their faith ultimately in their particular understanding instead of having faith in God are the ones in danger.
In the natural pursuit and enjoyment of community life, it is inevitable that a division will be created between those on the inside and those on the outside. Whether or not the outsiders in any scenario are alienated, offended, demoralized, and/or dehumanized is dependent upon the insiders’ capacity for grace, patience, and understanding.
While insiders should feel free to continue making arguments in favor of their various perspectives and experiences, they should consider that it is risky, and sometimes counterproductive and even wrong to derogate outsiders.
Think back ten years or so. There were circles that you so neatly fit into, groups that seemed to be the bar for your normal. Have there been shifts of thought or activity which have landed you in a “community” previously considered outside your realm, beyond the pale of your orthodoxy?
I’ll presume upon your willingness to allow me this imitation of a broken record:
Thoughtfulness is the order of the day.
3 comments:
Hey Mike,
I think Dr. House has some pretty pithy phrases that apply in many instances but not all. He's speaking from his crippled, drug-abusing self-experience when he makes this statement. He is, for sure, pitied and marginalized by other peers in his arena.
It's not that bad!!! The divisions also apply to light and dark, old and young, land and sea…normal stuff.
And I think those oboe players are trying to see where to put their fingers, the tubas are just dizzy from oxygen. ha
What bad athlete would want to play on a football team only to be ostracized by the whole team? What tone-deaf person would want to sing in a choir only to the chagrin of the other singers?
What farmer would want to join a group of urban professionals?
It's about learning who you are and your station in life.
If you believe that you are part of the big bang, that you just happened to be here at this time and place for no other reason than the "egg split", then so be it. If you believe that things happen for a reason, that we are here for a purpose and there are too many coincidences for the "order of chaos" to cause this, you are a good candidate for the supernatural.
These opposing views can co-exist in agreement to disagree.
The Bible says to let the wheat and the chaff grow together and the Lord will take care of the outcome. We are not to involve ourselves in the purging. How can we even know the true heart of another man. We can only do the best that we can to improve the community we find ourselves in. The circle is around us by our own decision and God-given liberty to decide, whether it be for God or against God...if we believe there is a God, of course.
The worst case of nationalistic community that I've ever seen was in Germany prior to WWII. In the book "Hitler's Willing Executioners", it is outlined how for many years prior to the war, the German's built up a hatred for the Jews. Language is also another circle that keeps a people both separate and together. I think that an insufficient amount of people knew of the magnitude of the racism Germans felt toward the Jews because they were separated by language. I don't think my German grandmother ever knew a Jew but when I was a little boy, she taught me the song: Deutchland, Deutchland uber alles, uber alles in der World! Germany, Germany over everything in the world. Clearly, there was a strong sense of nationalism even dating back to when her parents came here in 1894.
I'm sure that these circles created by language dot Europe and the world.
continued…
Part 2
As far as abortion/pro-choice to euthanize a healthy fetus, the Supreme Court passed Roe v Wade when I was ten years old. A strong impression was made on me that my mother could have legally killed me in her womb, had this been law when I was born. I just don't think that's very nice. Fortunately, my religion backs me up with many verses about God knowing me in the womb and thou shalt not kill. To me, it's a no-brainer. This is a value judgment. As we grow up and become adults, value judgments are formed in our character and whether we are for or against something, we draw a circle. I suppose the severity of the issue drives the perception of the opposing viewpoint.
Whether one stands for anything or doesn't stand for anything, it's still a value judgment and puts you somewhere in someone's circle. And just because a person is excluded from someone in one circle, they may be connected in another. One single opposing viewpoint doesn't mean that you can't have similar viewpoints on something else. We can simply agree to disagree.
I hope that I touched on some of what you’re talking about. It really looks like you answered your own question! lol
I will say that I find it sad when Christians, who use the same Holy Bible can't find more common ground. I confess that I've gone through my periods of disbelief, over-zealousness, I've done it all. But I'm happy to say that I've found my circle!!! It doesn't include anyone who doesn't want to be included and it doesn't force itself on anyone who doesn't agree.
We are at ease!
It does strive for self-preservation and participates in the democratic process. Given the choice between a pregnant woman who has all rights and choices on getting pregnant (save the <3% who don't) and her unborn child who hasn't had one choice in anything, I choose to protect the helpless. Given the people with a lack of health insurance, caught between the ‘haves’ and the poor and incarcerated who lack none, I side with the weak...etc.
I don't see America as very nationalistic. She seems to be splintered and fractured right down to the 'e' in Dan Quayle's potatoe. I can foresee pockets of extremism rising up in answer to extremism we see in other realms that are infiltrating our land.
Anyhow, I digress. Good observation. Good night!
John,
Thank you for your comments. Have you considered starting a blog? Your thoughts on this could generate a whole new post for discussion!
Meanwhile, I'd like to clarify/address a few things on behalf of my point. My post is more of an observation than a question in search of an answer. The quote I lead with is an exaggerated form of the same observation.
People draw circles around themselves and define normal by their own preferences, then some have a general tendency to treat people outside the circle in a derogatory manner. I don't see the circles as a bad thing, I see them as natural and inevitable. What I see as potentially bad is derogatory treatment of people outside of a person's particular circle.
Clubs, sports, religion, social debates, etc. are all used in my post simply for the purpose of illustrating the nature of in vs. out, normal vs. abnormal...wheat vs. chaff if you will.
Thanks again for your insights!
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