Chris McDonnell, UK
christymac733@gmail.com

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June 5, 2019

The Yin and Yang of politics

We live in turbulent times. Politics in our country is in a precarious state, culminating recently in the emotional resignation of our Prime Minister. Brexit might be a 'yes and no' argument with our fellow Europeans; at home the discussion has split our society in a dangerous manner, the very substance of parliamentary democracy is being challenged. Recent EU election results are evidence of that.

Meanwhile in the US, unprecedented circumstances have brought to power a President unfit to lead a great nation. In the past few days he has been visiting our country. When our recent guest assumed the Office of President, a friend e-mailed me from the West Coast saying that he "... was following our political journey with interest; he was following his own political story with a degree of terror".

Honesty has given way to deceit, falsehood has become the currency of power and the denigration of individuals commonplace. And of course global warming doesn't exist...

As the representative of a nation with whom we have a long- standing relationship, a US President should expect a warm welcome in the UK. In this instance, the man has demeaned the Office. After the dignity of President Obama, the contrast could not be more striking. At the time of writing these few words, all that I have is the published itinerary. I have no doubt that there will have been a vociferous reaction to his visit.

He arrived in the final days of the premiership of Theresa May whose three years in Office have been dominated by our national machinations over the European issue.

This weekend marks the commemoration of the D-Day landings, when troops from both our countries went ashore on the beaches of Normandy in the final invasion that brought the Second World War to an end. Our commemoration of that significant and costly event, leading to the liberation of Europe, risks the distracting presence of a president whose views are worryingly illiberal, whose remarks after the Far Right torch-lit march in Charlottesville VA two years ago referred to 'good people on both sides'.

Just how have we got here?

Difference of opinion in a Democracy is usually resolved through debate and the ballot box. The press and other media have an important part to play in facilitating such an exchange, yet he has repeatedly called out the US media as 'the enemy of the people'. We can only hope that his will be a one-term presidency and that his successor will re-unite a seriously fractured country.

The black and white symbol of yin and yang, a concept of dualism in Chinese philosophy describes how opposites may actually be complementary. Without doubt there is an interdependence present in the life and reality of our planetary home, the "darkness-brightness", "negative-positive" of so much is clearly evident. Maybe that is what we are currently experiencing in the wave of populism that is sweeping through so many countries. The demarcation of right and wrong being clear cut and unambiguous can so easily lead to totalitarian politics as all thoughts of compromise are blunted on its edge.

All of the many rules and dictats to be found in the Old Testament were reduced to just two in the teaching of Jesus, love God and your neighbour as yourself. I have just finished reading Daniel O'Leary's final book, written during the six months before his death in January this year. The one word 'love' repeatedly appears, as all the rules and regulations that we build around our lives become reduced to the simplicity of love.

There is a harshness in our public forum that is difficult to reconcile with love, when so many need the local food bank to support their lives, when some children arrive at school hungry yet still are expected to perform academically. A society that is broken requires the urgency of repair and restoration.

Our sensitivity to those in need was summed up in the story of the Jericho road, when compassionate care was offered and a bed paid for. With so many homeless, the honesty and good intentions of politicians is more vital now than ever.

So, as we reflect on a recent State visit, as we come to terms with the consequences of political stubbornness within our own country, maybe we should remember that the institution of the Church is not without its own problems.

When there is disagreement we should listen with an openness that recognises difference, and in charity attempt an understanding. The pettiness of someone on a long journey paying attention to each pebble on the path, rather than the bigger picture of destination and the experience of the vitality of love, is not without consequences. 'Out of all this must come laughter and the drying up of tears, fears diminish as the finish slow to show at first is seen, after all this is done and gone.'

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